A proposal for a $19 million community center will be presented to voters, the Cottage Grove City Council decided Wednesday.
The referendum will be placed on the November 2020 ballot. It calls for a community center on a 14-acre site at Keats Avenue and East Point Douglas Road, near U.S. Highway 61.
The center is to include an inflatable dome for sports, an indoor playground, climbing wall, a performance space and meeting rooms.
City administrator Jennifer Levitt said the dome would be comparable in size to the field house at the HealthEast Sports Center in Woodbury.
The city will rent space in the center to South Washington County School District No. 833 for its early childhood education program.
The center would have an annual operating budget of $50,000. It will mean an increase in property taxes of an estimated $47 per year for a $300,000 home.
She said officials are looking into partnerships to reduce the overall cost. Potential partners include athletic associations, businesses and community organizations.
The City Council vote on Wednesday was unanimous.
City administrator Levitt said the center would fit in well with the neighborhood.
The site, called the Shoppes of Cottage View, is the former home of the Cottage View Drive-In theater. It’s surrounded by recent projects including a five-year-old Wal-Mart, a $3 million roundabout project at Keats Avenue, and a $6 million upgrade of nearby Ravine Park.
In addition, Levitt said the city’s comprehensive plan calls for more housing in the area.
For more information about the community center proposal, visit www.cottagegrovemn.gov/communitycenter.