ICYMI: Moana Pool And Public Safety Center Funding Plans Approved In Reno

Press release from the City of Reno:

April 29, 2021

At the April 14, 2021 regular meeting, the Reno City Council approved the funding plan for the Public Safety Center and Moana Pool capital projects.

“We are extremely grateful to The William N. Pennington Foundation for their vision and financial support,” Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said. “I’m incredibly proud of our City Council for moving these two important community projects forward. This landmark decision will allow us to offer a much-needed recreational asset and public safety hub to our residents in just a few years.”

The $45.8 million funding plan, which includes $14 million in pledges and grants from the Pennington Foundation, starts with the current fiscal year and is being proposed over a three-year period. With this plan, the requirements for the Moana Pool $9 million Pennington Foundation pledge are met by FY 2022 for a total amount of $18.7 million toward the aquatics facility. The Public Safety Center would be fully funded ($34.5 million) by FY 2023 to meet the requirements of the $5 million Pennington grant.

These two capital projects required matching funds to move forward and were in jeopardy of losing a generous pledge and grant from the Pennington Foundation.

The week before the COVID-19 mandatory shutdown, the City was ready to move forward with a funding plan for the Public Safety Center. The project design was 90 percent complete and when the City informed the Pennington Foundation, they extended the timeline.

As soon as the shutdown was lifted, the City moved forward with final designs and the Finance Department drafted a new funding plan. Additionally, due to the associated uncertain economic conditions from the pandemic, a 12-month extension request to the Conditional Pledge Agreement to rebuild Moana Pool was also granted by the Pennington Foundation.

“The Pennington Foundation was very understanding while we worked to identify matching funds. The City truly appreciates their patience during this difficult time,” Ward 2 Reno City Councilmember Naomi Duerr said.

The sources proposed for the current fiscal year are available now and do not impact any other areas of the budget such as contingency, long term liabilities, capital already in progress, or capital already dedicated for a specific program. Going forward in the next two years, the funding sources include the sale of properties, pending settlements, annual savings, and other dedicated revenue sources.

As the third year approaches, any additional savings above budget can be dedicated to reduce the amount needed in the third year. In addition, any unallocated contingency funds remaining at each year end could be committed to these projects and would further reduce the amount needed in the third year of the plan.

Below is more information about each project:

Moana Pool

Moana Pool permanently closed in 2007. Since then, Sierra Nevada Community Aquatics, a non-profit, was formed to rebuild an aquatics facility and spearheaded the design of the proposed Moana Springs Aquatic & Fitness Center. This design was developed after coordinated input from the City of Reno, multiple user groups, and several professional aquatics designers and operators to design the most efficient aquatic center that will meet the community’s needs while maintaining a venue that can be constructed and operated within a reasonable budget.

After more than 10 years of work, the estimated $18.7 million project catapulted closer to becoming a reality with a generous $9 million pledge agreement from the Pennington Foundation.

The geothermally heated facility will be located at 240 West Moana Lane, adjacent to the existing soccer fields. The proposed two-level project would include such amenities as an indoor competition pool, multi-use pool, outdoor pool, multi-purpose room for birthday parties and community meetings or classes, and locker room on the first floor; and a nearly 6,000-square-foot fitness center on the second floor.

The new aquatic facility is needed to meet the recreational needs of our growing community, and it is expected to have a positive impact on the local economy by bringing out-of-town athletes and their families to the area for competitive swimming.

Public Safety Center

The current Reno Police Department headquarters was constructed in 1947. Today, the building is outdated, inefficient to operate, requires significant ongoing maintenance, lacks the space for our police force to grow, and would require repairs exceeding $7.8 million, which wouldn’t even address all of the workspace issues.

The total remaining cost of the Public Safety Center is estimated at $34.5 million. The $5 million grant from the Pennington Foundation will be used for construction at the building at 911 Kuenzli Street (formerly the Reno Gazette-Journal) to address the many challenges that our police face, allowing for improved community access, much-needed consolidated services and the ability for our police department to grow in tandem with our community.

This press release was produced by the City of Reno. The views expressed are the author's own.