SANTEE SELF FUNDS $23.5M COMMUNITY CENTER; DELAYS VOTE ON PAY HIKE
By Mike AllenImage: Rendering of planned community center
April 10, 2025 (Santee) -- The Santee City Council did a bit of creative financing to fund a planned community center at its April 9 meeting.
The project, behind the Cameron YMCA that has been planned for some 20 years, could go out to bid by this summer and start construction by January following the council’s action to move some funds from its general fund to a city fund set up for building capital improvements.
After completing design and engineering studies recently, the price of the 12,500 square foot, two-story facility was estimated to increase by $2.5 million to $23.5 million.
That was some $3.3 million short, and cities are prohibited from awarding construction contracts without having all the funds lined up, said Finance Director Heather Jennings.
She proposed using a city interfund loan, moving the shortfall money from the general fund to the fund set up for this project.
Mayor John Minto first asked about obtaining the necessary funds from a private donor much like the YMCA obtained a donation from the Cameron family when that was being built. He also said someone he knew “might give us $5 million for this.”
Part of the reason for the higher cost estimate is the decision to include much stronger electrical and computer server capacity inside the building so that it could act as an emergency backup operations center.
Vice Mayor Rob McNelis said the costs for everything but particularly construction “has escalated beyond control….and unfortunately things aren’t getting cheaper.”He made a motion to approve the financing mechanism so the project could move ahead, which was seconded by Councilwoman Laura Koval, and unanimously approved.
The council also reviewed a report from its salary setting committee that proposed paying the mayor and councilmembers 5 percent more for the next two fiscal years.
Most said they wanted to wait on this decision until they reviewed the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year budget and determine how much of a pay raise it was allocating to all city employees.But Koval said she agreed with the committee’sr ecommendations on the increased pay that also included a $100 per month increase in gas allowance.
Committee chairman Dean Velasco said if the council desires it could take a reduced salary bump and then tie part of a further increase to merit pay just as city employees receive for time served.
The Council deferred any action on councilmembers’ salaries until it hears answers on some of these proposals from its staff. Currently the monthly pay for the mayor is $3,246 plus $550 for gas allowance, and $90 for technology allowance. Councilmembers get $1,926 plus $450 for gas, and $90 for technology allowance.