BY ANDY TAYLOR
chronicle@taylornews.org
COFFEYVILLE — Taxpayers in the Coffeyville Community College tax district, which includes residents in Coffeyville, Dearing, Tyro, Caney and Havana, will now shoulder the bulk of the operational costs to maintain Veterans Memorial Stadium in Coffeyville under a lease agreement approved by CCC and the City of Coffeyville earlier this week.
The stadium, which opened in 2001, is owned and maintained by the City of Coffeyville. It is used primarily for football, track and soccer programs at Coffeyville Community College and Field Kindley High School in Coffeyville.
Since its opening in 2001, the City of Coffeyville has provided the tax dollars for the maintenance and upkeep of the 6,000-seat stadium. Under the terms of maintenance agreements between the City of Coffeyville, USD 445 and Coffeyville Community College, each entity was required to pay $25,000 per year for a capital maintenance fund.
The City of Coffeyville not only has provided its share of the money for the maintenance (as well as the full operational costs) but also paid a minimum of $580,000 per year to retire the debt for the stadium’s construction. That debt is set to expire in 2019.
However, in 2009, the Coffeyville Community College and USD 445 agreed to further contributions besides their respective shares to the capital maintenance fund. CCC provided $40,000 for operational costs (bringing the college’s total contribution to $65,000) while USD 445 provided $15,000 additional dollars for operations. USD 445’s total contribution to the stadium was $40,000 ($25,000 for capital maintenance fund plus $15,000 for operational costs).
Earlier this week the City of Coffeyville and CCC trustees negotiated a new lease arrangement (the current lease agreement was set to expire on June 30, 2010) whereby CCC would assume a majority of the operational costs — bringing its annual total commitment from $65,000 to an estimated $105,000 — which is an increase of more than 61 percent. CCC will provide the property and liability insurance for the stadium, pay the costs of utilities, provide staff for the stadium’s upkeep and also continue to contribute $25,000 to a capital maintenance fund.
The lease agreement also calls for USD 445 to maintain its $40,000 annual contribution ($25,000 for the capital maintenance fund plus $15,000 to the stadium’s operations), and the City of Coffeyville will continue to make its annual debt payment of at least $580,000. The City of Coffeyville will provide the electricity to the stadium (the City is the provider of electricity in the Coffeyville community) at the City’s wholesale cost.
The agreement allows for the City of Coffeyville to use the facility rent free for community functions.
Trustees did not provide any comment following their unanimous support for the new lease arrangement and adjourned their monthly meeting immediately after the vote.
The trustees did agree to strike out one clause in the proposed lease agreement offered by the City of Coffeyville. Under the city’s proposed agreement, any revenues generated by the operation of the stadium that exceed expenditures will be placed in the capital maintenance fund. Trustees voted to eliminate that clause and use excess revenues at their own discretion.
Prior to the trustees’ vote on the lease agreement, trustees were alerted that the City of Coffeyville had locked CCC athletes from the stadium after CCC and the City had not reached an agreement on the stadium’s lease.
The lease agreement begins on July 1 and will terminate on June 30, 2011. CCC trustee Blake Allen asked why the trustees would approve a one-year agreement with the City of Coffeyville considering the volume of obligation that CCC taxpayers will now be shouldering.
Linda Moley, executive vice president, recommended that the trustees approve a one-year-only agreement so that the trustees can spend the next 12 months working out any discrepancies or problems before a more long-term lease agreement is proposed in June 2011.
Following the trustees’ approval of the lease agreement, Coffeyville city commissioners on Tuesday gave their blessing to the proposed agreement but not without a heated exchange between commissioner Jim Taylor, Sr., and other city officials.
Taylor said the proposed lease agreement was a “horrible miscarriage of equity” as it shifts the burden of operations to CCC taxpayers.
“I think it’s drafted poorly,” said Taylor about the proposed lease agreement. “I think it’s a terrible piece of work.”
Taylor said he believed CCC should not only shoulder the operational costs but also take over the debt payments for the stadium.
“The $12 million that we will have put into that stadium by the year 2019 could have rebuilt half of our city streets,” he said.
Other commissioners said they felt the proposed lease agreement was a good arrangement between the city and the college.
“Many times, in the past, you (Taylor) have stated that you would be okay if the city retired the debt and all operational costs were shifted to the college,” said Mayor Alec Hendryx. “This is what this has accomplished.”
The stadium was built in 2001 as a nationally-recognized destination for sports events, including college football bowl games, high school state championships, and college-caliber track tournaments. The stadium is used by CCC and FKHS football, track and soccer teams for regular contests. It was the venue for the Dalton Defenders Bowl from 2002 to 2006 and hosted the NJCAA National Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2006 and 2007.
The home side of the stadium is capped by a three-story complex of stadium suites, press boxes, banquet room and coaches’ quarters.
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The commitments in the new lease agreement
Coffeyville Community College will:
•assume the operational costs of Veterans Memorial Stadium, which, according to estimates provided by the City of Coffeyville, are between $105,000 and $130,000. CCC will provide the labor for upkeep and operations of the facility on a daily basis.
• continue to pay $25,000 per year for the stadium’s capital maintenance fund, which goes to larger maintenance items, such as turf replacement, repairs to heating and cooling systems, roof replacement, etc.
• be able to keep revenue from advertising, concessions and rental of suites.
• provide property and liability insurance coverage for the stadium property.
The City of Coffeyville will:
• continue to be the owner of the stadium property and continue to make yearly debt payments of $580,000. The debt payments will expire in 2019.
• provide CCC with electricity to the stadium complex at wholesale cost.
•continue to provide $25,000 per year to the stadium’s capital maintenance fund.
USD 445-Coffeyville will:
• continue to provide $40,000 per year to the stadium with $25,000 going to the capital maintenance fund and $15,000 devoted to operational costs.
