ELY – School Board members here listened to respectful and civil comments from ISD 696 residents Monday night concerning a proposal to locate the Ely Regional Community Complex on the school grounds.

As many as three dozen community members filled the high school media center for the study session, and 18 people chose to voice their opinions.

Eleven people offered support for the project and seven people said they had concerns or were opposed to the project.

Last spring, Ely School Board members were approached by a group of community members, led by Jeff Sundell, to consider locating the multi-million dollar sports and recreational complex on the west end of the campus. “Since then we have held study sessions and submitted our questions and concerns to the ERCC board, and we looked at different location schemes on this campus,” said Board Chair Ray Marsnik.

The school board called for the listening session to solicit opinions from school district residents about using school district property for a privately-owned facility. Marsnik said board members would likely come to a decision on the issue this fall.

He asked for those commenting to be civil and respectful of everyone. “We are here to listen and will not engage in any discussion or debate,” he said. Speakers were limited to three minutes.

The first seven speakers voiced opposition or concerns about locating the recreation complex on school grounds.

“Ely’s enrollment in our district is declining,” said Tim Hogan. “Our economy is struggling to maintain an equilibrium, and I am wondering how a rec center attached to the school is going to sustain itself.”

He also noted that a business owner is operating a similar facility and a new rec center would be in direct competition with that person. Hogan charged that the competitive nature of the ERCC and Studio North has never been publicly addressed, and asked how taxpayer money can be used to compete with a private business.

Lucille Hogan said she was concerned with the facility being located on the school grounds. “It should be on its own property,” she said. The ERCC board has identified at least two other possible locations in Ely for the recreational complex.

“ISD 696 is here for one reason and one reason only: to educate kids in town,” said Paul Maki. “I don’t think you (school board) should be able to vote on this.” He called for the issue to go to referendum. “The public should have more input. There are too many unanswered questions. The financial figures are not in line with anything.”

Joe Folio agreed. “The school grounds belong to the children and students of Ely and not a public entity,” he said. He also said that after reviewing the sketches for the proposed complex he felt that it would use up too much property. “If you do that, there will never be any more expansion for the school if needed.”

Folio also voiced his concern of mixing adults with children in the same building. “And third, if you put this on school property and things go south, you will own and have to pay for it and maintain it forever,” he said.

Former School Board member Paul Pengal said he was against giving up school district property without regarding future expansion. “These rooms are starting to get filled up,” he said. “We are all optimistic that something is going to break in this town that will bring people to this community, and you are going to need the space. I think this is a big mistake.”

Bill Tefft questioned the physical space for another building on school property. “Parking is already a problem at times,” Tefft said.

Bill Erzar, also a former Ely School Board member, wondered about the legality of a private entity building on public property. “Who will pay for the maintenance and upkeep if the entity cannot pay— private funders or school taxpayers? If this rec center goes belly-up, who pays to tear down the complex?” he asked. He also voiced a concern about how the project will affect other private businesses in town.

A number of community members who serve on the board and steering committees for the Ely Regional Community Complex reiterated their support for the project.

Todd Heiman was a founding member of the ERCC board. “I thought this would be a really good resource for the city for a lot of different groups to use,” he said. He supports exploring the idea of locating the ERCC at the school, based on the Grand Marais model that has a similar complex attached to the school. “I believe programming is what will drive what is in the facility,” he said.

Lisa Porthan, director of Northwoods Partners said the ERCC would offer many opportunities for seniors in the community. “And as a parent, having an additional gym and more gym time for practices and intergenerational opportunities would be good for our community.”

Jeff Sundell reiterated his seven-year commitment to establishing the ERCC. “There is a lot of information that floats around in a small community that isn’t always accurate,” he said. “We haven’t asked for any taxpayer money and we don’t plan to at this point. We haven’t asked for school district money and we don’t plan to at this point. We have $5 million from a donation in the bank and we’re looking pretty strong on our balance sheet for something that is just getting going.” He stressed that the school campus location is just the first choice for the location of the ERCC.

David Wigdahl put his voice in as an advocate of the ERCC concept. “If we are going to put this amount of money into a facility, the answer is usage, usage, usage,” he said. “It has to be used 24 hours a day and seven days a week.” He visualized a scenario where kids would be bused to the facility if it were not next to the school.

ERCC board member David Marshall said he has experience with recreational facilities in other communities. “If operated properly, these become much more than a fitness center,” he said. “The facility needs to be centrally located in close proximity to kids and families. That’s why this site works so well. There are a lot of unanswered questions. I have volunteered to help figure out the answers to those questions.”

Other comments in support of the ERCC included:

‰Mike Keller– “The thought of a safe space for kids in this community is something I get really excited about.”

‰Heidi Favet – “This would be an amazing asset for our community no matter where it is.”

‰Dennis Miller – “I just moved into town after visiting here for 18 years and I used community centers a lot, and having a rec center here in Ely would be tremendous.”

‰Kurt Soderberg – “I live in Eagles Nest and people I know out there all support this type of facility for Ely.” He is a member of the ERCC and helped make the recommendation to locate the facility at the school “because it would be accessible to kids.”

‰Julie Hignell - “I am with the Ely Community Resource and we need another gym so badly.”

‰Jean Peschel – “A rec center like this would be wonderful for the city of Ely. I understand the concerns about it being located on school property, but as part of this committee, we are investigating what is feasible and how we can do it.”