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<br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he feels the draw area will be larger than a 5 mile circle <br />because of the distance of facilities of this caliber. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec stated that he was involved at Brooklyn Center when they built their community <br />center and is surprised with how much room rental there is for weddings and banquets. <br /> <br />Mr. Boynton stated that in his experience with Champlin, there are things that will follow this <br />type of facility such as restaurants and movie theaters. He stated that a fitness center/community <br />center can be an anchor for the area. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he agreed that it can bea quality of life destination. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen asked if there was a way for the City to jump ahead in the process <br />because a community survey has already been done and stated that people are interested in a <br />community center facility. He stated that he would like to form a committee to move forward in <br />getting community input on what things residents would like to see included. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that he would like to see this aggressively pushed forward. He <br />stated that he would like to seriously consider a possible hotel combination with this facility. He <br />stated that he sees this as a way to resurrect the RTC delays and problems. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec asked Jim Deal to give some feedback on this issue since he has done some work <br />in this area. <br /> <br />Jim. Deal, PSD, stated that if a waterpark is involved, it needs to be a public facility and noted <br />that the Otsego facility in connection with the hotel is already in bankruptcy. He stated that in <br />talking with hotel chains, they are interested in a linkage with a project, but not in financing a <br />waterpark. He stated that the fees the Otsego park was charging were too high for blue collar <br />families. <br /> <br />Curt Martinson, PSD, stated that they have met with Mr. Boynton as well as Gold's Gym, but <br />noted that Gold's Gym has new out of state investors. He stated that with the new investors, he <br />is not sure what type of facility they are looking for, but thinks it would be smaller than the <br />proposed Flagship Fitness facility. <br /> <br />Mr. Deal stated that the secret is to figure out what things the community will use so things are <br />not just sitting unused. <br /> <br />Mr. Boynton reviewed some of the issues there have been with including rock climbing facilities <br />and stated that he did not recommend including one in this plan. <br /> <br />Councilmember Look asked if Flagship Fitness was interested in expanding their facilities in <br />Ramsey. <br /> <br />Mr. Boynton stated that they would like to have 3 new clubs in the metro area over the next 2 <br />years. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / March 25, 2008 <br />Page 4 of5 <br />