Public to weigh in on sports center audit

WASILLA — Along with being asked to approve the donation of “mayor mobile” proceeds, Wasilla City Council will also vote Dec. 9 on a proposal that would appropriate up to $50,000 to conduct a facilities audit of the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center.

The audit proposal comes from Councilwoman Sullivan-Leonard after months of the council asking city administration for information about the management and revenue generation at the sports complex. It also came in the wake of the Oct. 9 DUI arrest and resignation of former Wasilla Recreation and Cultural Services Manager John Combs.

Combs, who oversaw operations at the Menard, was observed consuming alcohol while on duty during an event at the sports center. He was later stopped by Alaska State Troopers and charged with DUI and for possession of a controlled substance for having a single Xanax pill without a prescription.

Although the call for a closer look into operations at the sports complex came after that Combs incident, desire for an audit came after months of questioning from council members, Sullivan-Leonard said.

“We’ve been asking for information for the last year about the sports complex and how it’s being managed,” she said. “They haven’t been as forthcoming as they could be.”

She also said the council isn’t interested in dissecting everything that’s happened at the complex since it opened in 2004.

“Really, what we’re looking at is not so much what has happened in the history of the sports complex, but what has happened in the last four years,” she said. “You want to make sure it’s running at its best, and we’ve had some challenges. Revenues haven’t been as strong as in the past, so we want to have some professionals come in and (examine it). There are some sports facilities management firms out there, and that’s what they do.”

Sullivan-Leonard also said she’s disappointed Mayor Verne Rupright doesn’t support the idea. In preparing the first reading of the ordinance for the council at its Monday meeting, Rupright signed the city staff report about the Menard center in the council packet, but added he was signing it “as to form only — not substance or merit.”

Rupright said he wrote that so it was on the record that while he has reviewed the proposal, he doesn’t agree with it. Specifically, he said, it’s an unnecessary $50,000 expenditure at a time when the city is looking to cut costs.

“On the record, I’m not supportive of this expenditure, absolutely,” he said. “I have to manage this budget and we have stacks — reams — of studies on this place.”

Rather than being skeptical of an independent look into how the sports complex is being operated, Sullivan-Leonard said city administration should welcome the opportunity.

“I find (Rupright’s note in the council packet) to be very unfortunate, because as the CEO of the city, I would think he would want all of the assets of the city — be it the library, police station or sports center — to have a professional audit. It’s a win-win. I want somebody to come in and say, ‘look, this is what you’re doing right, but here are your challenges.’ As the mayor of the city, I would embrace it as opposed to being on the defense.”

Rupright said the information the council wants is already available and that if approved, the city would “learn what we already knows.”

A public hearing about the professional services contract for the Menard center is on the council’s agenda for its Dec. 9 meeting, after which the council could vote on the proposal.

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2269 or greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.