SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — With the election over, Sioux Falls city leaders are taking another look at the possibility of two new aquatics centers and millions of dollars in upgrades to a west side wellness center.
The projects were put on hold, as the city awaited the outcome of Initiated Measure 28. South Dakota voters decided not to eliminate the consumption tax, leading the city council to take another look at a 77-million-dollar bond issue.
The three major projects include a new indoor aquatics center at Frank Olson Park and a re-designed Kuehn Park Pool across town. City councilors have a lot of questions.
“I want a total cost for these facilities. We’ve talked about $47 million for Frank Olson. That’s the borrowing. That’s not the cost,” council member Curt Soehl said. “The cost that is not being included in that $47 million would be demolition and other things along with that.”
City council members are also looking at $3 million in upgrades to a west-side wellness facility. They also need to decide whether to borrow $9 million to replenish the funds used to purchase it from Sanford.
“I’m cautiously open to the idea of it being a little bit of a scale of some sort of range, but that’s something that I want to understand more about and learn why those things are necessary or how that would relate to the bond package as a whole,” council member Miranda Bayse said.
If a spending limit is set, it’s possible some recreational additions would need to be pushed back.
“That’s up to the administration to kind of figure that out and to sell us on that. So those things are also the things we’re working through specifically with this to the grand plan for indoor recreation,” Soehl said.
