MERIDIAN, Idaho — The City of Meridian says, in their preliminary plans, the community center will be built it with impact fees, not with tax dollars. There are no official design renderings yet, those will need months to be approved and then construction plans begin.
- 11 acres of land will be used to expand Settlers Park and build a new community center, just west of the baseball fields.
- Parks and recreation officials say there are no official Settlers Park Community Center design renderings yet, but there are a few design renderings from previous projects the team could build on.
- The City of Meridian says 'The approximate size of the Community Center is 17,000 - 20,000 square feet. A maximum of 22,827 square feet is eligible for park impact fees.'
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
A Thursday afternoon splash pad grand re-opening brought city officials and residents together at Settlers Park.
“We try very hard to make sure we have a balance of parks throughout our system, in all areas of the city,“ said Meridian Parks and Recreation Director Steve Siddoway.
Parks and Recreation Director Steve Siddoway says new and improved facilities for the park won’t stop here, as the department looks to add a community center.
The center will have multiple rooms for classes, camps, meetings, and city-sponsored events.
“Being able to attach it to Settlers Park makes it able to hold the classes indoors, but if you have a summer camp or something, and they want to do something outside then they can walk out and be part of the park and have activities in the park as well,”
As Idaho News 6 reported in April, the city bought the 11-acre lot, previously planned to be a school in the West Ada School District. The sale was $4.2 million.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Meridian buys land from West Ada School District for $4.2 million
“They’re able to use that money now in the future to acquire their next school site where the growth is actually happening,” said Siddoway.
The community center building could have a fitness studio, crafts rooms, a demo kitchen, and meeting spaces. It could be anywhere from 17 to 20 thousand square feet, but if the design is over 22 thousand square feet, the project won’t be eligible for park impact fees.
“So when we build the actual community center, we will build it with impact fees, not with tax dollars,” said Siddoway.
Parks and Rec says there are no official Settlers Park Community Center design renderings yet, but there are a few design renderings from previous projects the team could build on.
“Those concepts have similar uses to what we will develop here, but we will be starting fresh and letting this site inform what the building shape and layout should be,” said Siddoway.
There’s no telling when construction could start on the center, but Siddoway says design concepts will begin immediately.
