ONALASKA CITY COUNCIL: Aquatic center financing clears another hurdle

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Nov 07, 2002 | by Erickson, Randy

ONALASKA, Wis. - Members of an Onalaska city committee ignored a city council member's pleas at a meeting Wednesday night to put city financing for an aquatic center project to a referendum.

But Mayor Jim Bialecki said a referendum still could be put on the ballot if support is shown for a vote in upcoming public hearings related to a potential bond issue.

Onalaska's Finance and Personnel Committee approved procedural measures to start the process of issuing lease revenue bonds not only for a new aquatic center but for a new city shop and a parking ramp and road improvements related to proposed building projects around Gundersen Lutheran's Onalaska clinic campus.

The bonds would be issued through the city's Community Development Authority, because issuing general revenue bonds through the city would put the city almost at its debtload capacity and could lower the city's bond rating.

The committee voted to not include proposed OmniCenter improvements among the projects to be paid for with the bonds.

A private fund-raising effort is just getting started to raise $4 million to help pay for the $1.8 million OmniCenter project and a new $7 million aquatic center.

Alderman Arlyn Proksch, who chairs the finance commit-tee, said the plan all along was to pay for the OmniCenter project through private fund-raising. The money raised in the joint effort would go first to pay for the OmniCenter project, under the finance committee's recommendation.

Alderman Gary Gonczy urged the committee to make issuing of bonds for the aquatic center contingent on voter approval in a referendum. He did not insist on a referendum, though, for the $2.5 million for a new city shop nor the more than $5 million in Gundersen Lutheran related improvements, which could require an $11.6 million bond issue, including interest and other costs.

Council President Dennis Aspenson accused Gonczy of election-year grandstanding in his calls for a referendum. Aspenson later apologized for the remark.

Bialecki said he got nine calls Wednesday and at least four before that related to financing issues. Most of the calls sought a referendum on funding for the aquatic center, he said, but two calls supported a referendum on funding for the Gundersen Lutheran ramp.

The city council will take up the financing issue at its monthly meeting Tuesday. Gonczy vowed to press the referendum issue at the meeting.