KAYSVILLE — The City Council is studying a partnership with a private company to create a fitness center, including a public indoor swimming pool, inside Barnes Park.
The city's involvement in the project would include giving or leasing seven acres of undeveloped property to Pulse Fitness and possibly another $1 million toward the construction of the pool.
The council has scheduled a work meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, to discuss the proposal in much greater detail. It may even schedule another working meeting May 30, if needed.
The Barnes Park land is worth about $525,000, and the city has reserved the property since last October when Pulse Fitness initially contacted the city about this possible joint project. The idea has been revived in the past month because the city has discussed developing its own fitness center.
"I really struggle with this," Mayor Brian Cook said. "What the private section should do, the private sector should do. . . . Are we going to get into the recreation business?"
Councilman Darrell Horne is also wary about a marriage of city government and private business.
"We don't know enough to make a decision on what we're really buying."
Craig Taylor, an attorney representing Pulse Fitness — a Kaysville company owned by Jacie Johnson and her husband — would like to finalize an agreement with the city by July 1.
He said the Johnsons want a first class recreation center. Kaysville has its own $2.6 million recreation center proposal that would only include basketball courts, a kitchen, weight room and few other rooms in its first phase.
Taylor said the Pulse Fitness plan is for a $10 to $11 million facility with an indoor swimming pool, spa, tennis, basketball and racquetball courts, weight room, a child-care area and other features.
"It would be an incredible asset to the city," he said.
Taylor said a swimming pool is the No. 1 recreation component Kaysville residents have asked for during the past 25 years.
"We're proposing a partnership in all but liability," he said, explaining a nonprofit operation could be established for the swimming pool.
He said the Johnsons may build a pool with or without the city's partnership, but with it, Pulse Fitness could have a much better public facility in a first-class location — Barnes Park — located west of I-15 and north of 200 North.
Councilman Stephen Whitesides said the city library is so cramped it needs an expanded facility and that Kaysville has also been hard-pressed in recent years to get some needed road improvements done.
"You just can't look at recreation alone," he said.
Cook doesn't want the city to toss the proposal away just because leaders are afraid to tackle it, but cost looks to be the key issue.
Taylor said other cities have also talked to the Johnsons about such a partnership. However, the Johnsons want to court their hometown first with the proposal.
Neighboring Farmington has an outdoor city pool, and Layton to the north has the indoor Surf N' Swim facility. However, Davis High School has never fielded a swimming team because it doesn't have access to a pool.
You can reach Lynn Arave by e-mail at lynn@desnews.com