The Mandan Community Center Advisory Board opted on Tuesday to shelve the city's proposed sale of community center for 12 more months.

In the meantime, it will continue a joint agreement until ownership of the 35-year-old building is settled.

Instead of entering into its standard three-year pact, the advisory committee recommended a one-year shared plan of the costs be adopted by each of the affected boards.

The advisory board consists of representatives from the Mandan School District, Mandan Parks and Recreation Department and the city of Mandan.

Mandan City Administrator Jim Neubauer was asked to draft the shorter agreement. The existing three-year agreement of the school, park and city expires in December. Each board must accept the reccomendation for the agreement to continue.

As was a standard practice, the short-term agreement will raise subsidy costs for each entity by 3 percent for cost-of-living expenses.

Earlier this month, the city of Mandan offered to sell the community center for $1, basically forfeiting its ownership of the building to the park board.

The Mandan Park District operates the building and houses its offices at the center. The school district uses the building for classes and team swimming.

As a result of the city's offer to sell, Mandan Parks and Recreation Director Cole Higlin was directed by the park board last week to study cost options in constructing a new building .

On Tuesday, Higlin said a new building would cost at least $5 million and that was not feasible for the park district to build alone.

In the current three-year agreement, Mandan Parks and Recreation pays $50,265 in its annual subsidy, $5,000 for the long-term maintenance fund of the center and $34,815 a year to pay off $1.5 million remaining in debt repairs from 1999.

The city of Mandan is responsible for $50,265 in subsidy payments, $5,000 for the long-term maintenance fund and $69,630 to repay the debt.

The Mandan School District pays $65,673 for its annual subsidy, $5,000 for the long-term maintenance fund and $34,815 for the long-term debt payment.

Higlin noted that if the city were to pull out of the agreement now, that would mean the park district and school district would carry more of the costs.

Other pending repairs for the facility totaled $815,000.

"If the city were to sell for $1, they would have no contribution of subsidy or contribution to major repairs," Higlin said. Higlin believes the city would agree to pay $140,000 into the long-term debt balance of $1.5 million the three legs share for 1999 improvements.

Mayor Tim Helbling outlined the history of the decision to sell the building.

"I keep hearing Mandan's taxes are too high," Helbling said. "(I asked)what could the city commission do to control the portion of its city taxes that are too high?"

He said while the community center has good value to the city, not many functions are related to city operations.

"About 95 percent of what happens at the community center are recreationally based,"Helbling said.

Helbing also said he heard talk the park district wanted to build a new facility and vacate the center."I was thinking, where does that leave the city," Helbling explained.

"The issue isn't the ownership. I think the issue is losing $125,000 in subsidy per year or about 25 percent of our operation," Higlin said.

He said utilities cost nearly $136,000 annually at the center.

The mood of the meeting was cooperative and how to best to resolve the issue.

"I don't believe the intent of the $1 offer was in any way trying to (indicate) the building is no value to the community," Higlin said. Helbling agreed.

Mandan Superintendent of Schools Wilford Volesky and Mandan School Board member Tom Arenz represented the school system.

They questioned why their share of the subsidy was higher than the other two in the agreement. It was suggested the higher subsidy was because the school district uses most of the building through the pool.

"Our goal is to come up with some uniform agreement," Higlin said.

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