The Mandan Community Center Advisory Board mapped out its negotiating strategy in the next six months over who will own the community center.

The 35-year-old building has been a source of debate since September, when the city of Mandan offered to sell the building to the park board for $1.

Members of the advisory board, which consists of the park district, the city and the school district, later agreed to extend its operating agreement one more year, through December of 2009. Mandan officials reasoned a majority of the building's use is recreational.

All three entities share in the annual operating costs, a long-term renovation debt and a special account for long-term repairs of the facility.

Mandan Parks and Recreation Director Cole Higlin said talks will have to be aggressive and specific in the next six months on how to resolve the matter to everyone's best interest. He said it would be ideal to have a plan completed by June to allow each of the partners to set their 2010 budgets as needed.

City Administrator Jim Neubauer said the city could provide some subsidy to the park district for a period to tide it over, but some kind of timeline may be needed to end the city's involvement.

Higlin said that was more encouraging than simply turning over the key to the park district with no help in the future. He suggested the board might want to meet more than once a month in the next six months to more rapidly determine which direction they are moving in.

Higlin listed what he felt each of the partners' concerns are.

"From the city's standpoint, the subsidies they are allocating could be used elsewhere," he said. "For the school district - why are (they) paying more in subsidies and why do (they) participate in renovations, when park district doesn't participate in (their) renovations? For the park district, we can't do it alone. We believe it is a benefit to the community."

"I think we have to figure out who the long-term player of the facility is going to be," Mayor Tim Helbling said.

"I think from the city perspective, the long-term goal would be that you would put out the levies you would need to run the park district," Mandan City Commissioner Sandra Tibke said.

Mandan School Superintendent Wilfred Volesky reminded the other members that the school district is capped out in the level of mills it may levy. Extra funding for the community center may have to come out of the general fund. He felt that would not be well-received by the public.

Volesky was asked if it might be in the school district's interest to own the community center. Volesky said that question would need more research. He said there were possibilities for vo-tech education in some parts of the building.

Helbling said one problem was that the community center kept adding programs and utilities. "Is it time that the park district needs to say, 'this is a recreational facility'?" he asked. "We need to absorb this increase into our budget, or do we need to look at the people using the facility and start readjusting the rates?"

The advisory board will next meet at noon on Jan. 28 at the Mandan Community Center.

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