Would a partnership between Decorah Schools and Decorah Park-Rec make sense for a proposed community center?

Members of the Decorah Parks & Recreation Board say they want to investigate a partnership with the Decorah Community School District in building a community center for Decorah.

"It's good for the school district because of the space they want and it's good for us, too," said Park Board member Cindy Albers Thursday night.

A special committee of the Park Board has been studying the community center proposal.  A consultant has drawn up a sketch for one building that would carry a $9.6 million price tag.  Sharing a facility with the Decorah School District might enable to Park District to lower its costs.  "As a citizen, I'd like to see a shared project," said Park Board member Shirley Vermace.

Thursday night's meeting also included a discussion of what fees should be charged for access to a new community center.  A yearly membership fee of $500 has been discussed in the past, but Park Board member Kathy Bakken said it would be "a huge selling point" if membership fees were low or non-existent.

Park-Rec Director Andy Nimrod says it's estimated the annual operating expenses would be between $200,000 to $300,000.  That led Shirley Vermace to discuss the possibility of raising $4 million in donations to set up an endowment fund that would pay the operating expenses.

Decorah Mayor Don Arendt says he remains a supporter of the proposed community center: "It's one thing that our community doesn't have that other, much smaller communities already do have," he said.

Park-Rec Board members agreed that they should discuss a possible partnership with the school district.  They will also submit questions about the community center for the City of Decorah's upcoming consumer satisfaction survey.  "We need to get some more answers," noted Vermace.