Monday’s community forum about a new fieldhouse at Allen Community College was at times encouraging and at others, discouraging.
First the positives.
The turnout was amazing. A standing-room only crowd showed up, proving area citizens are informed and want to be involved.
ACC President John Masterson skillfully led the discussion, providing not only the background for how the college arrived at the decision to build an indoor track and athletic facility but also its desire to respond to those who have expressed an interest in making the fieldhouse a facility that would cater to the public as well.
Many applauded the college for its successful trajectory across almost 100 years, confident a partnership with city and county leaders could yield untold benefits for all those involved.
Iola Mayor Jon Wells laid bare the fact that two catastrophic floods in the last 12 years mean it’s not a question of if, but when, the city’s recreation facilities in Riverside Park would be flooded again, requiring extensive renovation. This last round of repairs to the Community Building cost the city in the neighborhood of $180,000. Though covered by insurance, it’s not something they want to do on a routine basis and are eager to seek a better alternative.
Health professionals, parents with young children, and senior citizens all spoke in favor of the activities center including an indoor swimming pool with an accompanying therapy pool.
Drew Mueller, a physical therapist, and Brian Wolfe, a physician, endorsed the many benefits of the pools for exercise and therapeutic purposes as well as helping keep patients from using Chanute’s facilities.
Many also saw an indoor pool as a good recruitment tool for not only prospective residents but for those tempted to leave.
“It’s likely we’re not going to substantially grow — and in fact, we may continue to lose population,” said Wolfe. “But there’s the concept of shrinking smart, which is to invest in amenities that we want. Things that make us happy and healthy and content to stay here.”
Local residents did just that last spring when they passed a $35 million school bond issue.
BUT THEN FEARS began to cloud the discussion.
Just as with the school bond issue, big land owners worried about the personal cost to them if property taxes were raised to build a more expansive facility.
Some fretted about us trying to be a “big city.” Others predicted a popular venue would be a scheduling nightmare.
Some expressed their mistrust of the college’s “foreign” element, alluding to it robbing local students of opportunities and local communities of resources.
“Those out-of-towners just leave,” a woman remarked.
AND THEN the sun broke through.
