A decision on whether an $8 million indoor aquatic/wellness center will be built on the Bismarck State College campus will likely be made by the Bismarck Parks and Recreation Board at its March 20 meeting.

At a special meeting Thursday, the park board held discussion and took further steps indicating the facility will become a reality, with construction starting immediately after Memorial Day, with the doors to open just prior to school opening in 2009.

District director Steve Neu provided the board with preliminary expense and revenue figures. It's estimated the facility will cost $1,150,000 to operate annually and can generate the same amount in revenues. Neu said that the district will likely subsidize 10 percent of the operation from the general fund, which is similar or less than what it subsidizes its other facilities, such as the VFW Sports Center and golf courses.

Work is still ongoing regarding the city's road reservation, which must be vacated before the facility can move forward. A joint powers agreement involving the park district, BSC and the board of higher education has been completed and is being reviewed, Neu said.

The BSC student body and board of governors has approved a $4 per credit fee, which will provide $300,000 annually for operating capital and access for BSC students.

The facility will be built by the Streamline Foundation, led by Dennis Kemmesat. It will be leased/rented back to the park district at a cost of about $53,000 a month for the next 20 years. Kemmesat said that Streamline will be conducting a capital campaign to raise $1 million to provide things such as bleachers, lockers and other amenities to finish the facility.

The facility will feature a 50 meter pool with moveable bulkheads and a smaller recreation pool for swimming lessons and lap swimming. The moveable bulkheads will allow for a number of configurations of the larger pool for practice and competition. There will also be a wellness center, which Neu estimated as 1.5 times the size of a regulation basketball court. There will be seating near the pools for 1,000 spectators which can be rolled back for open floor space.

The plans also provide space for the addition of a gymnasium in the future.

The plans also incorporate a biomass system that will burn woodchips and coal to provide heating, air conditioning and dehumidification. Kevin Miller, representing Kadrmas, Lee and Jackson, Inc, which is designing system, said the $2.2 million system will have a five-year payback.

The biomass system will save a significant amount in annual operations versus the use of natural gas, Miller said. The park district itself will be able to provide fuel from the maintenance of its parks, and there is also an abundance of wood available through the Bismarck sanitary landfill. If there would be a shortage of wood, one of the lowest cost fuels, the system can switch to low-cost lignite coal. The biomass burner, used in conjunction of an absorption chiller for air conditioning and reducing humidity, also reduces electrical use.

Among the actions taken by the board was setting an April 1, 5:15 p.m. hearing date for the creation of an improvement district to provide for the center's infrastructure. It also accepted the preliminary engineering report by Swenson and Hagen, and authorized staff to pursue the biomass system.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@bismarcktribune.com.)