Published: September 28, 2009 08:33 am      

Civic center idea has merit, if the details line up

Steve Boggs, Democrat Publisher

The idea of building a civic center complex in Weatherford has been kicking around the rumor mill for a long time. Last Sunday, the first official word of such plans hit the front page of the Democrat. The rumor is now a tangible plan, and the debate has already begun.

Building a civic center complex, complete with a 6,000- to 8,500-seat indoor arena, has merit. Weatherford is the self-proclaimed Cutting Horse Capital of the World, and any such facility would obviously be anchored by equestrian events, both large and small. Certainly there is a need for such a facility close to, but outside, the western Metroplex area. Our city lacks adequate banquet space and could certainly benefit from a destination facility. The tourism and hotel possibilities are significant.

However, before this idea begins to mature, there are some questions that need to be asked. First and foremost, how much will it cost? While it may be too early in the process to determine a cost estimate, a ballpark-level number is necessary at this time.

Our biggest concern lies in the funding aspect of this facility. Currently, our city council is split over whether to raise tax rates to pay for capital improvements the voters already approved. The new fire station and water tower, and several other city projects, were green flagged by voters only recently, and now that it’s time to pay for them, we cannot seem to acknowledge tax rates must increase.

Before a large-scale project such as a civic center complex can move forward, it needs to have a dedicated funding stream put into place to avoid this kind of controversy in the future. This kind of investment and long-term project will be dealt with by city councils 30 years from now. Our current council is at odds over projects that came to the ballot box only four years ago, or less. Any bond package approved by voters should have a beginning date and an ending date as well, with conservative projections of growth revenue and no cross pledging of revenues. There can be no confusion over what this facility will cost, where the money will come from, and how long it will take to pay off. The last thing the city needs is a divided council in the future refusing to raise the tax rates to pay for this thing, in spite of voter approval to do just that.

We also have concerns with plans to have the facility be privately managed, but owned by the City of Weatherford. Those kinds of arrangements can work, but voters should know the details in advance of any bond election.

As with any big project, the devil’s in the details. Assuming such details can be worked out, as well as spelled out to the voting public in advance, this may very well be an idea whose time has come for Weatherford and Parker County.

There is obviously much work to be done between now and the finalization of any concrete plan to build this facility. However, a large-scale, multi-functional arena and meeting complex is a good fit for the heart and soul of horse country.