Special meeting Monday on operating multigen center

The Maricopa City Council will hold a special meeting 6 p.m. Monday to decide what specific requirements an outside organization hoping to run the future multigenerational and aquatic facility should meet.

Technically, the city’s recreational department, specifically the Parks, Recreation and Library Advisory Board, is responsible for running the $16.2 million facility at the southeast corner of John Wayne Parkway and Bowlin Road, but at a meeting in May the city council asked the staff to look into a third party running the center.

Monday’s meeting stems from a lengthy discussion the council had in September about the requirements city staff asked council members to approve. 

Sticking points at the September meeting included whether proposals would be accepted from only single organizations or several partnering organizations.

Another issue was how involved an outside entity should be with the operation of the facility. 

Other proposed guidelines:

• The partnership must not increase the amount of money the city needs to subsidize the center or result in residents needing to pay costly fees.
• The organization must be willing to integrate city groups in such a way that there’s no duplication of services.
• The organization must be willing to sign a shorter contract with extension options and the city will remain in control of pricing, programming and control.

Mayor Christian Price said he thought each of the qualifications should be examined more closely and perhaps incorporate more detail, while Vice Mayor Ed Farrell said such a level of detail would be more appropriate to discuss during contract negotiations.

Overriding the request for proposal itself, however, is the question of whether the facility should be run by an outside entity at all. 

Laura Mateo, a resident since 2005, favors an outside organization running the center, particularly the YMCA.

“They have a great reputation, good programs already in place, our kids have gone to camps that, we thought, were top of the line,” Mateo said.

“We live close by where it’s going to be, so my family is excited,” she said. “I like the idea of them having it ready to go when they open the doors. (The YMCA) would already have staff in place.”

Will Dunn, a Maricopa native and former councilman, disagreed.

“I think the city should run it unless there are significant cost savings,” Dunn said. “(The city) runs the parks, and they do a fantastic job with that.”