Columbia aldermen delayed a vote Tuesday on whether to do a $17,000 environmental study regarding a potential sportsplex on R.A. Johnson Drive.
Mayor Justin McKenzie recommended moving forward with the study after City Engineer Jeff Dungan explained what it would involve, but Alderman-at-large Edward Hough expressed concerns about potential space limitations.
“To me I think we need to decide if that is going to be a site for recreation before we spend any money on it,” Hough said.
McKenzie said he thinks it would be a great location considering the proximity to U.S. 98. The city-owned land is behind Walmart and near the shopping and dining area along the highway.
“We may not have the space there to build a huge facility, but we also do not have the means to carry a huge facility,” McKenzie said. “When I said huge facility I mean 12 to 14 fields; we do not have the hotel space or enough restaurants to support it.”
The sportsplex will be funded by a 3 percent restaurant and hotel tax that city voters approved in a May referendum. Aldermen are now determining where to put it.
McKenzie said no headway has been made with the Board of Supervisors about looking at land in the Marion County BusinessPlex. The mayor said he has had some objections from some of the supervisors. If the sportsplex were built on any county economic development foundation land, which sits adjacent to the BusinessPlex, the matter would have to go before the Legislature for approval in 2020. The land owned by the economic development foundation, which was formerly a part of the Columbia Training School, is deeded for industrial use only.
The other property that has been considered is on R.A. Johnson Drive,
City Engineer Jeff Dungan advised Tuesday that an environmental study there includes doing a wetlands delineation and threatened endangered species survey, cultural resources survey and phase one environmental study as well as preparing a preliminary map and developing a master plan. He said the cost would be $17,550, and the study would be good for three years. However, he said the cultural resource survey, which will cost $4,500 of the $17,550, may not be necessary but he believes the state Department of Archives and History will require it.
“This is the first step in looking at what you can do with that property and what the costs are,” Dungan said.
Hough said the main problem with R.A. Johnson Drive is parking limitations.
“I don’t care what you build if you have a big event, you will not have enough parking,” he said. “You will have people parking on RA Johnson Drive and you will have children running and people driving, creating a safety hazard.”
Hough continued, “I think before we start allocating money to do a study on property when we haven’t even gotten down and got our plans together, I think we are putting the cart before the house.”
“I would rather us build something smaller and nicer than try to stretch our dollars out to build something grand,” McKenzie said.
“You have a good point about it being nice,” Alderman Jason Stringer said, “but we need to think positive, too, and have room for expansion.”
“We need to sit down and decide what we want and then we can decide where it should be,” Hough said.
The motion to do a study on R.A. Johnson Drive was tabled until the next meeting city meeting, which is set for Aug. 20.
Alderwoman Anna Evans asked about the environmental study at the BusinessPlex, and Dungan said the cost there would be $20,000 because the area is larger than at R.A. Johnson Drive.
