CLOSING UP SHOP: Bob Slawinski, co-owner of Scotts Valley Sports and Event Center, stands in front of the roller rink that uses up most of the building.
The City Council OK’d the purchase Wednesday, June 3, despite objections from resident Paul Bach, who questioned the purchase amount and the item’s placement on the “consent agenda,” which precludes any discussion by council members or the public.
The item was moved to the regular agenda after City Manager Steve Ando said its placement had been a mistake.
The deal with Bob Slawinski and his family, owners of the 22,600-square-foot center on Kings Village Road, comes after seven years of breaking even or losing money on the enterprise, Slawinski said.
Slawinksi said he sometimes lost $100,000 to $120,000 a year, but subsidized it with his Slawinski Auction Co.
“I love that center, and I really enjoyed what I’ve done for the past seven years,” Slawinksi said.
Council members already had authorized negotiations for the center in closed session May 20, Ando said in a report.
A city council can legally determine the price and payment terms of a proposed real estate deal behind closed doors, but any other discussion must take place in public, according to the state’s open-meeting law.
Closure of the center will impact its many users, including roller hockey and indoor soccer programs, service clubs, fundraising events, individual roller skaters and others. No nearby venue is nearly as large — The Chaminade resort offers 12,000 square feet of space, the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium 8,600, the Cocoanut Grove ballroom at the Boardwalk 6,300 and the Scotts Valley Hilton 3,500.
Slawinski approached the city with an offer to sell the building, Ando said. Funds for the purchase will come from the city Redevelopment Agency and impact fees paid by residential developers. The city has been saving these funds for years to pay for a planned Town Center library, and they do not affect the city’s general fund.
The plan will enlarge and change the layout for the Town Center commercial-residential development, which had the library as a centerpiece at the head of a city green. The sports center is near the planned site and already in the Town Center planning area.
Scotts Valley’s current branch library is 5,300 square feet, and the proposed new branch would triple its size.
City Councilman Jim Reed, who represents the city on the county library system board, said it would be “sad” to see the center close but added that the city will benefit from the enlarged library.
However, the change in ownership means the property will be taken off the property tax rolls. Its most recent single-year tax bill was $32,964.
The agreed-upon price of $4.5 million is less than the property’s appraised value of $4.65 million. The city will pay $1.6 million up front and finance the remaining $3.9 million at 6.5 percent interest over a year.
City staffers had determined that buying and remodeling the sports center as a library would cost $7.56 million, compared with $10.23 million to build a new library.
Slawinski said he probably will look for a smaller building to house his auction business, which had operated in Felton for many years before he moved it to Scotts Valley in 2002 to be part of the sports center.
The rink is really the only place in the area where you can play in an all ages soccer/hockey league after work year round. It's also a great place to connect with the local community.
Hundreds of adult hockey and soccer players suddenly without an outlet for their daily stress at work? It's a recipe for disaster if you ask me!
But seriously, I don't see how dismantling a major social beacon to start a multi-year multi-million dollar project will benefit the community. As Paul mentioned above the Town Center plans already included a library upgrade. Are there plans to re-locate the sports center, or build a new one? Will those plans take years to execute, effectively dismantling all the hard work the Slawinski family has put in?
I hope there is some way to keep the sports center going, it certainly adds character to the city.
The concern and criticism that was raised by people at the meeting centered on the loss of the Sports Center and on how the City handled the transaction including the lack of input that was sought from the public. Despite the fact that this purchase and remodel will cost more than $7.5 million dollars very little information was circulated to the public before the meeting.
One has to ask, why the rush? Why the lack of public disclosure?
The City voted on the transaction less than a week from when we first read about the possibility in the papers.
A new Scotts Valley library is needed and in fact the existing Town center plans and drawings already included a new library as the focal point of the project. The proposed library was to be an architectural center piece strategically placed at the end of a planned town green. With Wednesday’s vote by our council we have lost the only sports center of its type on this side of the hill and we have now moved the library out of the main Town Center plans to the back façade of the expected stores. Was this the only option?
Before the November elections, the City conducted numerous focus groups and public meetings to inform the public and to seek input on the Town Center plans. Much of that input directed the ultimate plans that were presented in the fall. With this new situation not a single meeting was held with the public to discuss options and to get alternative suggestions. By the time the citizens read about this in the paper it was for all practical purposes already a done deal. Were there other options? I guess we will never know.
Good luck Bob and Rob, I have nothing but the highest respect for the two of you. Over the years you have greatly contributed to the community. My concerns are not toward you but rather they relate to how the City handled this.