"It would really be a shame if a program was not able to give it a shot."
There may soon be a decision on the future of the Wexford Civic Center.
County commissioners will hear a revised proposal to keep it alive.
This story started last year when commissioners lifted deed restrictions.
That meant they could put the Wex up for sale.
Boon Sports Management, who runs the civic center now, made a case to save it in March.
They proposed taking full responsibility for the Wex.
The county was still concerned about paying maintenance costs under the arrangement.
9&10’s met with boon sports management and a commissioner.
He has more details on the newest plan.
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“It has become such an important part of the fabric of our community,” says Mike Figliomeni, board member of Boon Sports Management.
The Wexford Civic Center has served as a gathering place for the Cadillac area for decades.
The possibility of losing it inspired Boon Sports Management to create, revise and present a new proposal to save it.
“We have tried to address in our proposal all of the concerns that we’ve heard from the county board of commissioners as it relates to the expenses of maintaining the Wex,” Figliomeni says.
A big problem for commissioners — shaving away costs.
“The major issue that we’ve heard from the county is the cost of maintaining the facility, into the future,” Figliomeni says. “Our proposal takes that cost off the shoulders of the board of commissioners and the county."
In order to get another shot at running the Wex for possibly the next 10 years, Boon Sports Management revised their proposal.
The issue on the ice — cost of maintenance.
“Sometimes, we have to spend money to provide services to the community that maybe some of us don’t want to but we have to find a way of doing it,” says William Goodwill, Wexford County Commissioner for District #9.
The Boon Sports proposal would take over $85,000 in maintenance costs per year, with the help of millage funds.
The county would continue to pay a required management fee.
“Now, the only annual cash expenditure that we would have would be the $50,000 that is the current contract that we provide each year to operate the facility,” Goodwill says.
The proposal will be discussed at the Wexford County Commissioner’s meeting tomorrow night at 5:30 pm.
“It would really be a shame if a program or a group like us was not able to give it a shot to maintain it into the future,” Figliomeni says.
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