Pubdate: Wed, 03 Dec 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Jon Murray

DENVER LOOKS AT POT TAX

Higher Rec Center Costs Have City Officials Considering Marijuana Proceeds

Cost estimates have ballooned by 25 percent for the Central Denver 
Recreation Center, and city officials want to tap into recreational 
marijuana tax proceeds to pay for about half the increase.

The $6.6million jump in the construction budget is mostly the result 
of escalating costs in the building industry and the city's 
fine-tuning of plans for the rec center with public input, Denver 
Parks and Recreation Executive Director Lauri Dannemiller told a City 
Council committee Tuesday morning.

About $1.3 million of the increase is attributed to the cost of 
giving the rec center a vertical, urban-friendly design for the site 
at EastColfaxAvenue and Josephine Street.

At the same time, Dannemiller and Councilwoman Jeanne Robb said, 
officials had pared back some of the plans, such as reducing the lap 
pool from 10 lanes to eight. That's a change some council members 
hope to see reversed, perhaps by seeking private donors or selling 
naming rights for the center, because it could affect the new rec 
center's ability to host swim meets.

The panel signed off on two pieces of the funding increase that 
require council approval.

Groundbreaking is planned in the spring or early summer for the 
now-$32.3 million facility, seen as a marquee center for Denver's parks system.

The rec center - to be built at four stories facing Colfax, with a 
rooftop deck for event rentals-would open in late 2016 or at the 
start of 2017 near East High School and south of City Park.

Robb said she and Councilman Albus Brooks scrutinized the budget with 
planners before coming to the council to ask for more money.

"We believe this is a tight budget," Dannemiller said. "We know we 
are probably going to have to make a few programmatic changes as we 
go along, but we're feeling pretty confident about this budget of $32 million."

City finance officials want to cover the $6.6 million cost increase 
by tapping $900,000 from unspent parks budget money this year, $2.5 
million from the Better Denver Bond program and $3.2 million in 
marijuana tax proceeds.

The pot tax money was left over after the council signed off last 
summer on new city spending for regulation and marijuana enforcement.

The Finance & Services Committee approved proposals for tapping the 
parks budget money and the marijuana tax proceeds, sending them to 
the full council for consideration in coming weeks. The bond money 
doesn't require new council approval.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom