The Soldotna City Council Voted Wednesday, July 12th, to increase the dollar amount appropriated to fund the Soldotna Field House project.
Last year the estimated cost for the field house was just over $18 million, however, in June of this year that cost estimate had risen to $28 million, prompting a recommendation from the city to split the project into separate phases to streamline the process. During the October elections last year a vote passed which allows the city to incur up to $15 million in debt to fund the field house.
The July 12th vote appropriates money from the city’s general fund, as well as money left over from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) – federal relief funds provided during the COVID-19 pandemic – and capital funding.
Soldotna Public Works Director Kyle Kornelis, who presented at the meeting said;
“This ordinance is a result of our June 14th public work session with Council, where we strategized the funding mechanisms to enable the city to bid the construction of the Soldotna Fieldhouse. [This] appropriating ordinance includes several different funding sources, again enabling the city to put the project out to bid, hopefully within the next week or so.”
The city will use $3.5 million from its general fund, $750,000 in remaining ARPA funds, and $825,000 in capital funding as sources for the project’s cost increase. These amounts are in addition to the $15 million in bond proceeds approved last year.