by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Preliminary schematic plans of a Sartell Community Center, without a branch library, were presented to the city council at its Oct. 12 meeting.
The center plan does contain what is called a “learning and innovation center” of about 2,100 square feet – a place for learning materials, books, media and Internet hook-ups, all of it possibly accomplished through a partnership with the Sartell-St. Stephen Community Education program and/or the Sartell Senior Connection.
The council, before the community-center presentation, voted unanimously to take a request by “Friends of the Library” under advisement. That request was for the eventual construction of a branch library, centrally located in Sartell, a separate entity from the community center. (See related story).
At the Oct. 12 meeting, Murray Mack, the city’s consultant architect and president of HMA Architects, presented an overhead slide show of the proposed Sartell Community Center, using a computer program that gave a virtual visual tour of the sketched-out building.
The following is an overview of the schematic plans for the community center. Nothing in the plan is set in stone, and much of it will have to be altered and/or fine-tuned according to budget constraints.
The $11-million, 53,000 square-foot community center would be constructed on part of a 15-acre site on the north side of Lake Francis, the pond at the south Ferche/Weyer site. The center would be flexible, with possibilities for future expansion. There will be about 300 parking spaces outside the building.
Overview
Here is what the center would possibly contain: an entry-lobby with a welcome-information area next to a 2,500-square-foot senior center located next to the 2,100-square-foot learning center, with possible access between the two.
In the senior center there would be room for multi-purpose uses with movable walls, perhaps a gas fireplace, a small outdoor patio with a view of the pond. There would also be a small coffee bar and refrigerator.
A storage room for tables, chairs and other equipment is planned, along with at least two rooms called “creation stations” for making arts and crafts.
The learning center, noted above, would also have two “creation stations” off to the side, as well as room for socializing, reading and a place where people of all ages can interact. It might also have a gas fireplace and an outdoor plaza with a view of the pond. It is not a library, Mack noted.
Multi-purpose room
A large multi-purpose room of 2,900 square feet of usable space could be divided with a movable wall and could even, perhaps, be expanded, via movable walls, into the adjacent circulation areas and walkways.
The room could be used for virtually any kind of meeting or event, including a social space for people during tournaments or events. It will have views of the plaza and the pond.
Off to the side is a catering kitchen of 400 square feet that could double as a concessions area, as well as a large storage room to store viewing screens, projectors and what not.
Recreation
The center would contain three full-sized gyms (total of 21,000 square feet) with non-wood floors, making them usable for all sorts of sports, even softball or baseball.
The gyms’ area would be two stories in height with an elevated walking track extending around the entire three-gym area.
An area off of the gyms would be an 800-square-foot “Kids’ Zone” where children could have fun while one or more parents or other adults use the gyms, with a glass-wall visual connection between gyms and Kids’ Zone.
Future options
Some of the options possible in the future include perhaps an outdoor pool on the site, a climbing wall, more plazas, an amphitheater, rain gardens, filtration ponds, a warm gathering place for winter activities like skiing and skating and/or a storage building for rentals of paddle boats, canoes, kayaks and so forth.
There will be ample room for landscaping, picnic areas, fountains and more.
Aesthetics
The center would be steel-frame construction with brick-veneer exterior, a tower like the one at city hall and pre-cast panels around the multi-gym section.
Council reactions
Council member Amy Braig-Lindstrom said she wondered if 300 parking stalls will be enough and if the road into and out of the center will be adequate to handle the traffic. She said, “It’s a beautiful building.”
Council member David Peterson had several questions of the city administrator. Who will manage the building? What will be the operational costs? Will seniors have to rent the senior center?
City Administrator Mary Degiovanni said the center will be owned by the city and could be operated either through a contract or through actual city employees. The operational cost is not known but rental fees could help defray any cost. Whether seniors will have to rent at the center is still to be considered, she said, although there might be some in-kind exchanges such as seniors helping staff the center or doing other tasks.
Council member Steve Hennes said he is impressed with the center’s multi-purpose uses, its energy-efficiency (including its south-facing windows), its movable walls, which he said he hopes will be soundproof and its multi-generational potential.
Council member Pat Lynch said the schematic plans are a great start from which to get public input. He thanked everybody who put so much work into the planning.
Mayor Sarah Jane Nicoll said she is excited about the seniors having a “home” in the center. She added she is eager to get public input, especially about the “learning and innovation” space because, in her opinion, “it looks more like a library to me than (what) I envisioned for that space.”
The center, she said, is meant for all ages and will be an attraction the way the Munsinger Gardens are in St. Cloud.
Nicoll noted someone once criticized the south-site center, saying it would become the council’s “legacy” in a negative way.
“I’d be proud to call this my legacy,” she said.
This is the current, early design of a community center next to Lake Francis. Design plans were created by HMA Architects.
