HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-04-17-minutes-mels-bowl-and-fun-center2017-04-17 MINUTES 1
COMMISSIONERS' MINUTES
KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
COMMISSIONERS AUDITORIUM
SPECIAL MEETING
MONDAY 2:00 P.M. APRIL 17, 2017
Board members present: Chairman Paul Jewell; Vice-Chairman Laura
Osiadacz; and Commissioner Obie O’Brien.
Others: Julie Kjorsvik, Clerk of the Board; Neil Caulkins,
Deputy Prosecutor; Jill Scheffer, Event Center Director; and
approximately 10 members of the public.
SPECIAL MEETING MEL’S BOWL COMMISSIONERS
Due to the amount of people attending the meeting it was moved
from the Commissioners Conference Room to the Commissioners
Auditorium.
At 2:00 p.m. Chairman Jewell opened a Special Meeting to discuss
the proposed Mel’s Bowl Fun Center which would be located in the
old Bowling Alley that’s owned by the County.
Mike Burtness reviewed the history and proposal of Mel’s Bowl
Family Fun Center. He said it was their desire to have 6 bowling
alleys located within the building. They have reached out to the
person who originally installed the lanes and he felt he could
put them back together to have them up and running again. He
indicated there were people interested in opening the restaurant
portion, as well as having a 9-hole putt-putt golf area. The
center would be a creative and educational place along with
various types of activities for families to do. They plan on
having artists involved from the university as well as the
community; a stage and area to show movies and other types of
entertainment. He said there may be interest to get the bar up
and running as well, but they would not be interested in serving
hard alcohol. The group believes they can make the payments as
outlined in their business plan which was previously submitted
to the Board of County Commissioners for their consideration.
There was discussion on how the roof needs to be replaced. He
asked what the BOCC needs or what they need addressed.
Some of the comments made by the audience included: A strong
need for a family fun center in the community and where would
the money come from to pay for the equipment.
2017-04-17 MINUTES 2
Jennifer Hoyt said they would set up some type of fundraisers
for businesses to sponsor a hole for putt-putt golf or a bowling
lane.
Commissioner O’Brien said he didn’t want to undercut other
businesses or private entities.
Chairman Jewell explained how the County was not in the business
of renting office space and how it takes away from private
businesses. He said the roof and HVAC is an issue and needs to
be replaced in addition to fixing the potholes around the area
which could result in being up to $100,000.00. He expressed
concerns of economics and where the group would be in 10 years.
He said several people have approached the County to rent the
building for a variety of different projects. Although the
County is open to ideas, it is not necessarily a function of
County government to operate a facility like that.
Mr. Burtness said they have volunteers who have expressed their
willingness to take care of the HVAC, plumbing, etc. as it would
be a large benefit to the community. Chairman Jewell said that
would be great however, they would need to get the plans
approved for those projects. He said if they intend on bringing
some assets to the table it would help provide real value to the
County.
Commissioner Osiadacz said at the end of the day the County
Commissioners need to be able to make sure they are using the
tax payer’s money to its best use. She also expressed concerns
of possible cost overruns on the project.
The Board indicated they would put together a response which
would include some financial information along with what the
group would be required to do for renovation and the approximate
costs.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:07 p.m.
KITTITAS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
CLERK OF THE BOARD KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Julie Kjorsvik Paul Jewell, Chairman