The Newtown Community Center project has encountered another hurdle, "and we have to find a way to overcome" that hurdle said First Selectman Pat Llodra. "We are inching forward, but I still have great confidence it will be wonderful."

A conference call with a consulting firm on Monday, August 22, provided an overview that Community Center Advisory Committee members found "disappointing." Several members, along with Mrs Llodra, listened quietly to Evan Eleff, with the Sports Facility Advisory group (SFA), retained by Newtown to assess the expenses and revenues of running an aquatic center and pool, and community/multipurpose space of up to 13,000 square feet.

The "expenses exceed revenue by a healthy margin," Mr Eleff said as he delivered a draft report of his firm's feasibility study.

Advisory committee member Bill Buchler asked, "What did we not factor in? We thought this would make some money."

"It's the pool," said Mr Eleff. Although the pool was expected to generate revenue, he said that "in reality only a few pools on a national average recover costs."

"OK, that is depressing," Mr Buchler answered.

The aquatic/community center option is the result of nearly a year's worth of research and planning by the Community Center Commission. Members had sought to develop a community center model that would not be a future burden on taxpayers. In February of this year the commission had generated financials that compared potential expenses and revenues. Their estimates showed an aquatic center that would turn a profit, while a community center alone would operate at a loss. (See the commission's final report on the home page of newtown-ct.gov.) Aquatic Center financials included in the commission's final report as posted there indicate that the facility could generate as much as $108,615 by year three. The SFA draft delivered Monday indicates that the center would cost money to run.

The final proposal in early 2016 described a facility of some 43,000 square feet comprising two main features, including at least 13,000 square feet of flexible, programmable space for general community use and an aquatics component with two pools - a lap pool of up to 50 meters and a zero-entry pool. The SFA report assessed a 25-yard pool.

Once the plan was in place, a referendum date followed.

Residents in April voted on the following referendum question: "Shall the $14,550,000 special appropriation and $5,000,000 bond authorization for the planning, design, and construction of a Newtown Community Center be approved?" At that time residents voted to spend a 2013 gift from the GE Foundation of $15 million intended to fund the development, construction, and operation of a community center. The GE gift includes $10 million to design and build, and another $5 million to underwrite at least five years of operating expenses.

The town is bonding an additional $5 million approved in this year's Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to supplement the initial $10 million capital gift given to the community by GE after 12/14.

Wants, Needs, And Reality

Mr Eleff could look at the numbers again in areas of expenses and operation seeking "areas to reflect longer revenue … But again, a community center would require ongoing subsidy," Mr Eleff said.

"Obviously we'll have to digest some of this. There are wants, needs, trying to run at a profit, and then there is reality," Mr Buchler said, next asking for guidance about how to avoid an annual loss.

"There are things we can go into to change the bigger picture," Mr Eleff said.

Regarding the past referendum, advisory committee member Kinga Walsh said, "Many people approved a vote of up to a 50-meter pool with a recreation/community center space … there are many people under the impression that we're getting a 50-meter pool." She asked about how to appease frustration since "numbers aren't matching." Ms Walsh said, "This is humbling and frustrating - lots of opportunity, but disappointing."

Mrs Llodra ended the call by telling Mr Eleff that she was interested in having a "high level" conversation about ice. Past possibilities for a community center had included an ice arena.

Following the conference call, Mrs Llodra wondered about the discrepancy between prior planning and the draft report from SFA.

"The diligence we're doing around cost is very important and as difficult as it was to hear, we needed to do it." Regarding the group of volunteers who had researched the community center project, she said, "There have been many good and thoughtful people trying to figure that out for us."

She sees a challenge in bringing a new facility to Newtown. "I want to find a way to bring the right and best thing without creating a tax burden," Mrs Llodra said.

Looking again at the SFA's financial estimates and those generated by the Community Center Commission, she said, "I think there are areas of cost and revenue that can be managed better and the gap can be lessened … I think we have more work to do."

Mrs Llodra added, "We will be doing a deep dive in that information. I see differences in revenue and expenditure and we will examine them."

Asking several questions, she said, "Where is the gap, can we fix the gap, and ultimately, what is in the best interest of Newtown? We are not going to have to push this forward; we are going to take the time to get this right."

In pursuing a center with a pool component, she said, "We had a sense that the community had a lot of passion around aquatics and around programmable space." She also sensed a lot of passion around "something that is not a tax burden."

Financially, "Our conclusions are very different than the SFA … so we stop, look at the data, and find out what to expect and how to communicate it to the community. We have to be certain about project design before we commit." She aims for a plan that is "accurate and fair and the community is aware of the information."

She said, "This is a difficult project. We want to accomplish something substantially good for the town and sometimes aspirations could be bigger than our capacity, and we have to balance funds with capacity." Planners will have to also consider "whether this project is balanced; we don't know yet," Mrs Llodra said. The goal is a sustainable community center. "If data says it's not sustainable and will require support, we have to figure out if that is right."

The draft report delivered Monday will be finalized and sent to members. Another conference call is scheduled for the afternoon of September 1, at 3 pm.

"My expectation is that after the next conference call we will have final documents from the SFA, then we will look at the gap to understand what it means," Mrs Llodra said.

"We still have a gift from GE and will bring something new to the community, but right now I can't say what it will be," she continued. "I would like to think we can bring the aquatic center forth, but I have to make sure the process is good. This is about the best interest of our community and how do we get there. We need to be confident with the project before we go forward."

A Community Center Commission member and also sitting on the advisory committee, Ms Walsh took a day to weigh her thoughts following Monday's call. She said, "The background to the August 22 discussion needs to be outlined for residents." On June 17, SFA and its counterpart outlined construction estimates for the proposed up-to-50-meter pool and 13,000-square-foot community space as approved by Newtown residents. She said that the SFA estimates "were significantly higher" than the Community Center Commission's numbers.

"This was surprising despite the town's construction estimates as having been stated to be 'conservative' [$15 million] during the NCCC's work," Ms Walsh said. "As a result, SFA was asked to provide pro forma financials on a 25- or 35-yard pool with community space, with further direction to not exceed the $15 million budget in any way. Given this, comparisons of the original resident-approved proposal and the new SFA proposal are not 'apples to apples' and should be viewed independently." No final report is yet available from the SFA.

Also participating on the original Community Center Committee and now the task force, Carla Kron offered the following: "The data discussed with SFA on Monday night was preliminary."

She said, "This is a starting point for further discussion. There likely will be a number of changes made, including opportunities that have not yet been factored in, before a final report is issued. Until the work is complete, it is misleading to look at the data as final."

Andy Clure, who has also served on both groups, said, "You want to stay positive without jumping to conclusions and this is one step in a many-step process. Our group had wanted the SFA to offer an outside eye to help us … It's helpful with more people looking at it, especially someone who has done this in other cities."

He said, "People are anxious to get going, but we are being cautious."