The Austin City Council reviewed revisions to the Rec Center lease agreement with Austin YMCA manager Diane Baker at a work session following their regularly scheduled meeting Monday evening at Austin City Hall.

Baker stated to the council that the YMCA at the Austin Community Recreation Center was requesting two revisions to the original lease agreement with the city, one being the youth activity center being available for students in grades 2-12 instead of 5-12, and the other concerning the payment of $100,000 per year by the YMCA at the Austin Community Rec Center to the city.  Baker stated that given budget projections for year one, the YMCA will not have a positive cash flow. She went on to state that in order for them to manage expenses, they were requesting that the payment of $100,000 be dispersed on a quarterly basis starting in March of 2020. The council moved unanimously to approve the revisions to the lease, and Baker added that the Rec Center is scheduled to open on February 3rd.

In other business, the Austin City Council reviewed a wastewater treatment plant flood mitigation study with Public Work Director Steven Lang, who stated that the council approved a contract with SEH in November of 2018 for a study to evaluate flood mitigation options for protection of the facility.  Lang stated that the facility is protected by a levee system that was built primarily under emergency conditions to protect against rising floodwaters of the Cedar River. He went on to state that due to the nature of the construction and lack of design for the existing system, it is highly unlikely that the existing system will meet the minimum FEMA requirements for accreditation without significant modifications or reconstruction. Lang stated to the council that the goal of the design study was to develop a feasible flood mitigation system that protects the wastewater treatment plant and can be built to meet the minimum requirements for FEMA accreditation without reducing the level of protection afforded by the existing system during construction.  

Lang presented the council with three alternatives for their consideration and recommended the third option, which was the most cost effective at $8,205,000.  Lang stated to the council that assuming funding is in place, construction of the entire project could likely be completed in one construction season, with design and permitting in 2020 to 2021 and construction in 2022.