Monticello, County hope to combine to build golf/ community/senior center

San Juan County and the City of Monticello are combining efforts in a bid to build a new Community Center / Senior Citizen Center / Golf Clubhouse at the Hideout Golf Club.
Preliminary plans for the center were introduced at the February 24 meeting of the San Juan County Commission. They can be found at the San Juan Record website at www.sjrnrews.com.
The combined project will cost approximately $2.8 million, with the majority of funding coming through grants and loans from the Utah Community Impact Board (CIB). An interlocal agreement will allow both the county and the city to service the debt for the facility.
In 2013, the City of Monticello secured $1.3 million for the community center project, with the majority of funding coming from the CIB. However, when bids for the project came in recently, they exceeded the available funds by several hundred thousand dollars.
Similarly, San Juan County saw the need to build a new Senior Citizen Center in Monticello, but costs for that project grew. The county budget for the project is $1.5 million.
San Juan County Administrator Kelly Pehrson said that combining the two projects will save an estimated $700,000. These savings will allow for a larger facility with more functionality.
The plans show a 8,030 square-foot facility that includes space for a golf course pro shop, a 2,340 square-foot conference space, full kitchen, offices and a 1,050 square-foot dining room. The facility could be used for a variety of purposes, including conferences, meals and activities for Senior Citizens, public meetings, golf course functions, and wedding receptions.
Commissioners have signaled an interest in creating an ADA-accessible facility to host Commission meetings. Currently, Commission meetings are held on the top floor of the County Courthouse, with limited seating and challenging access for the handicapped.
The clubhouse at the Hideout Golf Club is currently in an aging building and presents a less-than-overwhelming first glance at the award-winning course.
Senior Citizens in Monticello currently meet in the basement of the San Juan County Library in Monticello. Officials state that the space is inadequate, access to the north-facing building is difficult, and the facility is aging.
In coming weeks, both the County and the City will need to return to the CIB to amend the funding agreements. County Commissioner Bruce Adams, who also sits on the CIB board, said the CIB should look favorably on the project.