Ellensburg Fieldhouse Project (003)

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related to utilities work has been completed as a part of some initial fieldhouse design work that completed in late 2023 by the Helix Design Group. In terms of project readiness, the project is located on city owned property, a significant portion of the project funding is already in place, outreach work has been done with community stakeholders to help identify amenities that need to be included in the building as well as space needs, the staffing plan is to relocate staff from the Stan Bassett Youth Center to the fieldhouse, a draft `Request for Qualifications'to construct the building is already completed, and city has hired the Pacifica Law Group, a firm with a lot of work experience developing and working with public/private partnerships, to help walk the city through the process of getting a contractor selected and the project underway. 2. Risk Management Identify potential risks or challenges for the project (e.g., delays, budget overruns) and provide strategies to mitigate these risks. Pursuant to the authority under Chapter 35.42 RCW, the city anticipates the most likely development scenario as follows: the city intends to negotiate a series of agreements with the selected developer, including a site ground lease, a development agreement, and a facility lease. The developer will design and construct the facility pursuant to a design and specifications approved by the city at its sole cost and expense. The city will lease back the fieldhouse from the developer, with an option to purchase the completed fieldhouse at any point during the term of the ground lease. Ownership of the field house would revert to the city at the end of the ground lease term unless the city has earlier exercised its purchase option. In the development of the lease, the city can establish a not to exceed project cost, thereby placing project risks associated with cost overruns on the developer. Under this statute there is minimal risk to the city. This partnership model reduces risk to County lodging tax support. The purchase options can only be exercised after the facility is fully constructed, thereby protecting the County's investment in the project. VI. Tourism Metrics and Success Measurement For capital projects, we recognize that traditional short-term tourism metrics such as visitor counts, overnight stays, or immediate revenue generation may not be measurable during the construction phase or shortly after completion. However, it is essential that applicants demonstrate how the proposed project will support tourism in the long term and how success will be evaluated over time.