Bismarck Park Board members split on a decision to purchase $142,159 in fitness equipment for the Bismarck State College Aquatics and Wellness Center on Thursday.

Bids were awarded for circuit training equipment, plate-loaded free weights, cardiovascular equipment and spinning bikes.

The board agreed to pay for the equipment on behalf of the Fill the Lanes Campaign in anticipation the park district will be reimbursed.

Park board president Paul Quist and park board member Mike O'Brien gave the opposing votes.

The Fill the Lanes Campaign is fundraising group collecting money to help the nonprofit Streamline Foundation fulfill its promise to contribute $1 million to furnishing the future aquatics center.

Streamline has headed the financing of the now $9.4 million project. In return, the park district has agreed to lease the building for 25 years.

Debate reheated on the aquatics center project back in early June when Streamline asked the park board to amend its not-to-exceed contract on construction by $700,000. The original not-to-exceed contract was set at $8.7 million, but delays in weather and a foundation redesign raised the costs.

The park board first agreed to pay the extra cost if the park district would own the building after the 25-year lease. Later that month, the park board reversed the decision to own the building.

Opponents of the project's funding method say the building should have been properly bid out and it would have spared many of the design and cost conflicts.

"I think the Streamline Foundation pledged $1 million. They're already $700,000 over in their budget," Quist said. "I believe they should have had the opportunity to raise that money for that equipment and then we buy the equipment."

Quist was skeptical over the verbal agreement that the park district would be repaid.

"I don't understand why we are paying for this. This is part of a proposal that the money is going to be raised for this," Quist said. "It even says so in our own propaganda that we send out.

"If we want pay for these out of our own pocket before the pool is done … we should have a signed contract from Streamline saying they are going to pay us back from the money raised for this pool."

Quist later noted that he and O'Brien had opposed the decision to seek bids last month.

Controversy also came in late July when the Fill the Lanes Campaign asked the Bismarck City Commission to consider giving $150,000 from its Visitor Fund to install bleachers for the facility. The Bismarck City Commission denied the request.

Quist doesn't believe the park board will be seeking any more equipment bids for the facility.

He said the Fill the Lanes Campaign or Streamline should have sought the bids for the fitness equipment, not the park board.

"In my opinion, it was a turnkey operation and we shouldn't have anything to do with this until it's part of the lease,"he said.

Bids for the equipment were awarded to:

n Matrix for the circuit training weight equipment for $46,360.

n Push, Pedal and Pull for the plate-loaded free weights at a cost of $12,234.

n Matrix for the cardiovascular equipment at a cost of $67,905.

n Push, Pedal and Pull for the spinning bikes at a cost of $15,660.

A Dec. 1 opening is planned for the aquatics center.

(Reach reporter LeAnn Eckroth at 250-8264 or leann.eckroth@;bismarcktribune.com.)