Intergovernmental Agreement Provides Resources To
Build Community Center

by Robert A. Porter

THE LEMONT PARK DISTRICT AND THE LEMOMT TOWNSHIP governments broke ground on March 10 for the largest joint capital project in the history of the two Lemont governmental units. They entered into an intergovernmental agreement which has provided the resources to develop and build a 24,000 square foot community center addition onto an existing 7,000 square foot recreation center owned by the park district. Intergovernmental agreements are not new in Illinois or in Lemont. The uniqueness of this agreement is that the park district is financing the project for the Township while the Township is expanding into senior citizen recreation services to reduce service demand load on the park district.

Both units of government were facing a shortage of indoor program and office space with a rapidly growing service population. The Township and park district population has increased by 50 percent in the past three years. The park district has a larger tax boundary dimension than the Township being in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. Lemont Township is in Cook County. Both agencies were contemplating building individual complexes before approaching the concept of a joint building project. Apart, the township was facing a major financing issue of developing a large capital project. The park district had a better capital financing, but had concerns of financing operational costs for a large enough complex to service the many interest groups requesting services. The park district owned land sufficient in size to accommodate such a building concept.

The two governmental units formed a task force to explore the possibilities of a joint plan. The agencies soon concluded that an expansion to the Centennial Recreation Center, an existing center, would be the most cost efficient and best return in reaching the desired objectives. Both agencies desired additional office space. The Township was renting and the park district was outgrowing its spaces. Besides additional space, there was a need for program

Illinois Parks and Recreation 27 May/June 1991

space for meetings, activities, senior citizens, a full dedicated craft room, a gymnasium, fitness center, adult locker rooms, a new concession room for the swimming pool, and a lobby large enough to accommodate the public while waiting for classes to begin and end. These new building functions would compliment the existing racquetball courts, swimming pool, program rooms, and offices located at the recreation center. The expansion would increase the size of the center to more than 31, 000 square feet under one roof. Each agency was already providing services to senior citizens on a cooperative basis, but wanted to expand services. The park district was looking for a means for passenger cars to drop off children in a safe manner at the recreation center. The Township wanted close parking for senior citizens as well. Separate identification was desired for both agencies. Both agencies incorporated the use of advisory committees to help project needs and interests for building use.

Plan with vision to the future

The two agencies approached the planning process with a vision of the future in mind. The agencies started from the first moment eliminating the terms, "theirs and ours." It was a common goal that caused much interaction of services and resources to occur. This was done on the basis that both units share the same taxpayers. Duplication of resources was reduced oreliminated in all situations. Both agreed that planning should take into consideration the possible future disbanding of the Township form of government; the possible splitting of the agencies because of future political or building use differences; and the possible need for the Township to move to a larger facility some day in the future. It was agreed that the park district would continue to own the building and land for the best interest of the taxpayers. The two units agreed that as much common sharing of resources as possible should occur without causing mission statement changes for either agency.

Select a consultant to determine financing analysis

A financial consultant was selected to determine the financial analysis. A determination was made that the best financial package would be that the park district carry the bond issue with the Township paying its share of the service debt directly to the park district. The park district would issue a 15-year alternative revenue bond using roll-over bond issues to finance the debt. The Township would pay a front-end lease over the 15 years to pay for construction costs of its section of the building. The operating costs of the new building would be prorated according to space use. After the 15 years, the Township would only contribute to operating costs as would the park district as the building would be paid off.

The financial analysis by Speer Financial, Inc. clearly demonstrated that the cost of the building could be accomplished on an annual 5 percentage tax base growth pattern of the park district during the 15 years of the bond issue. The park district has been experiencing double-digit growth during non-quadrennial assessment years. The park board made a policy decision to level off its tax rate and to maintain that rate as the assessment base value of the district, thus a future lowering of the tax structure of the park district. The decision was made to issue a principal and interest schedule for the debt service to the Township exactly the same as would be for the park district.

Select an architect

The next process was to select an architect to design the building that would meet all of the objectives of the two governments. This process was important as a determination of cost had to be projected for bond issue purposes. After review of several firms, the decision was made to engage the firm of Doyle and Ohle Architects, Inc. It was an interesting process in getting two government groups to agree on design concepts. James Ohle was the senior architect of the project. His firm took great concern to provide a functional design while adding a quality building design to the community. The design phase included no less than a dozen different major building layout designs. The final building layout design was selected due to its ability to meet the objectives of the two units. The design also allowed the old and new building sections to blend together to make it appear as a new building versus an addition being added. The design phase took less than 60 days to complete.

It was projected that the cost would be about $90 per square foot based on the quality of construction desired. The park board made the decision to underwrite up to $ 10 per square foot of construction for the Township section of the building.

The park district issued an alternative revenue bond for $2.5 million. This bond would include the cost of construction, architect fees, contents, and all bond-related expenses. No groups objected to issuing alternative revenue bonds. Rather, there were several letters of support printed in the local newspapers. This support was projected from the fact that a great many interest groups were incorporated into the planning process of the building. These groups will be using the building for their club meetings.

The construction of the building is anticipated to take 11 to 12 months to complete. It is anticipated that the building can be occupied in February 1992. The park district and Township are now busy planning occupation and building utilization schedules. Both agencies have already agreed to purchase office furniture together for cost savings and quality appearance. The two units have also agreed to purchase a joint telephone system which will allow individual identification and use while allowing the public ease of access to either unit. The phone system will also include voice mail to improve communication service to the public. Program room furniture and equipment are also being jointly purchased for cost savings to both units.

Desire to improve public services is key to successful agreement

The key to this intergovernmental agreement is that both agencies have the desire to improve public services with the most cost efficient means available. Apart, these units of government would have had extreme difficulties in meeting their building construction needs. The cooperation will provide quality services to a small community, normally only found in larger systems. The intergovernmental agreement, which is binding for both governments, was drafted and passed without major issues. Two keywords used many times so far in this project were "vision" and "positive attitude." The final gesture of cooperation was the renaming of the Centennial Recreation Center to the Centennial Community Center, symbolizing that the complex is a community resource facility for residents and businesses.

About the Author

Robert A. Porter is Director of Parks & Recreation at Lemont Park District.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 28 May/June 1991