Sports complex proposal heads to committee

Trustees are interested in sports facility, but they want it to go through the proper channels

At their Wednesday meeting last week, the Mount Horeb Village Board did not reach a decision to combine village funds with donor contributions to purchase land for a proposed recreational complex. They also tabled an item requesting additional funds for a football field in the complex, and a request to release the lots in question from a business development agreement.

The five parcels total about 11.5 acres between Springdale Street and Commerce Drive. Board trustee Ryan Czyzewski said the site is desirable for a recreational complex. “There’s no place else where we’re looking at this kind of acreage that we can do inside of town other than this spot,” he said.

The group of private individuals, led by Terry Kurth, has been working on identifying land that could be utilized by the Village of Mount Horeb and the Mount Horeb Area School District for the new complex, which could include an indoor aquatics facility, a fieldhouse for basketball, volleyball and pickleball, as well as outdoor recreation space for football, soccer, baseball and softball. They have promised to give close to $1 million of their own funds, equaling roughly half of the purchase price for the land. They are working to finalize a 501c3 organization and said the Mount Horeb Gridiron Club can currently accept donations for the purchase from others who want to help.

It’s still unclear how the complex would be run, how much it would cost to build and operate, who would pay for it, and who, ultimately, would control and use it. As of last week’s meeting, the proposal had not gone through any village committees, but had initially been discussed by the village board a few weeks earlier.

Kurth expressed concern about future availability of the land if the board did not come to a decision before the end of the year.

“The key thing is to get this piece of property locked up,” Kurth said. “To delay it would put it at risk.”

Many of the board’s concerns were centered around a lack of information about what responsibilities and contingencies will be attached to a decision to make the purchase. Village attorney Bryan Kleinmaier said the board did not know what they would be agreeing to if they voted on this issue at last Wednesday’s meeting.

“What are you being asked to do and if you take that action? Where do you end up?” Kleinmaier asked.

The Mount Horeb Area School District is also a significant player in the field. The school board has not addressed this issue yet, but they are considering putting a referendum before voters in the spring to pay for outdated classrooms and more, and some people want them to also ask voters for money for the sports complex. If the complex is built, Kurth said he expects the school to have priority access over sports clubs and the public.

“I think this should be a school ordeal, this is a school thing,” board trustee Cathy Scott said. “At some point we can help but we don’t even know the cost of any of this.”

Board trustee Jason Fendrick echoed similar concerns.

“Why are we stepping in as a middle-man to essentially work as the district’s banker while they see whether or not they can come up with the funding through a bond issue?” asked Fendrick.

Kurth said if the school district cannot make the land purchase right now but the village can, it puts the village in a strong bargaining position.

“You come in with this and you control the land, with some feedback from our group and things, that’s going to give you more leverage when dealing with the school,” Kurth said.

Fendrick also said if the complex is first and foremost for the schools, it should be connected to one.

“I don’t like the idea of a separate field house from the school building,” he said. Although he acknowledged there is no suitable space adjacent to any existing school. He said the space might be better left available so that the school district could build a school connected to the recreational complex.

Kurth previously called the school district’s current sports facilities “horribly deficient” and “archaic.” The current gym has seating for 900 spectators, but for a sports event to be broadcast more widely there must be seating for 2,000, he said. “The lost revenue potential there right now is a lot,” he added.

In addition to the school district, board trustees said other local government groups including the Parks and Recreation department, the Community Development Authority (CDA) and public citizens have not had the opportunity to express opinions and concerns on the project. Fendrick said the CDA had not even held a meeting since this issue was brought before the board.

“We are just moving way too fast and putting way too much risk out there if we do this as it is proposed,” said trustee Brett Halverson.

“I think we need to take our time, have community meetings, hear from the CDA, hear from Parks and Rec, hear from Finance [Committee] and really think how this is going to impact our finances; how it’s going to physically shape our village,” Halverson continued.

The issue of the sports complex was subsequently placed on the next CDA and Parks and Recreation meeting agendas, which were scheduled to take place Wednesday, Dec. 14.