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Jun 19, 2023

Winona OKs extra $1M for Masonic

Photo by Chris Rogers Contractors work on new flooring and risers in the Historic Masonic Temple Theatre in 2018. by GABRIEL HATHAWAY The Winona City Council agreed to spend an extra $1 million after

Photo by Chris Rogers

Contractors work on new flooring and risers in the Historic Masonic Temple Theatre in 2018.

by GABRIEL HATHAWAY

The Winona City Council agreed to spend an extra $1 million after bids came in over budget for a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system at the Historic Masonic Temple Theatre at its last meeting.

The city previously budgeted $2 million for the project, but the lowest bid the city received was a Winona Heating & Ventilating Co. bid at $3,073,443, including the HVAC system and two added components: fully replacing the boiler system and adding radiators throughout the facility. City Manager Chad Ubl said there won’t likely be a lower bid in the future.

The Masonic Temple is currently home to the Friendship Center, Winona’s senior center, and has hosted various arts events. The city has spent over $3 million in recent years on upgrades such as a new roof and theatrical improvements. The theater venue has been closed since 2020, with city officials citing outdated ventilation and health concerns during the pandemic.

City Council member Jeff Hyma acknowledged the “sticker shock” of the $3 million project, but emphasized the significance of the Masonic Temple to different organizations. “We’re trying to make a venue such that a variety of different arts organizations in the community can have a home. By spending this and doing the HVAC process, you at least bring this building to a usable standard,” Hyma said.

City Council member George Borzyskowski echoed Hyma, stating the importance of making the Masonic usable. With the HVAC upgrade, the second and third floor of the Masonic Temple could be used again, Ubl stated.

Hyma went on, stating local arts organizations should fundraise for future aesthetic improvements. “I would hope going forward that the arts groups that we're partnering with would be able to work as partners … and find other funding sources for some of the other upgrades within the building that are more cosmetic or aesthetic that would probably be needed or wanted going forward,” Hyma said.

City Council member Steve Young said while he supports the Friendship Center and the arts, he was concerned over the project’s price tag. “This is an additional $1 million. This is public money. This is taxpayer money. This cost is 50% more,” Young said. He continued, “We can't afford everything we want. I think these 3 million precious dollars of public money that we're spending, we should consider spending this on a new senior center and a new rec center.”

City Council member Jerome Christenson strongly supported the bid and said to not support it, “is to betray a trust with a large segment of the community” and “just wrong.” Christenson added, “I commend specifically the city staff for finding funding for this that isn't going to require going outside and levying new money. This is money that's already been collected from taxpayers and pledged for public use. And this is a public use, this is a public good.”

Funding for the HVAC project comes from a variety of sources, $1 million from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money, and $1,139,929 from an equipment certificate for the project, made up the planned budget for the expected $2 million HVAC project. To cover the additional $1 million, city staff suggested using “residual equity” from loans the city took out to finance past projects and $150,000 from the city’s facilities fund. According to Ubl, since 2006, the city has paid 105% of the debt service costs on equipment certificates, overfunding projects in the case of unexpected costs. Residual equity from the 2006, 2011, and 2015 equipment certificates provided $510,000 for the project, and another $273,514 came from a 2017 tax abatement bond.

City Council member Aaron Repinski sided with city staff, stating they are the ones in the know, the ones who did the research and know the numbers. “I feel that if our city staff recommends to do it, that's how I'm going to vote,” Repinski said.

Finally, Winona Mayor Scott Sherman capped off the discussion by saying “it hurts” to spend an extra $1 million on the project, but that he supports it. “Every single city facility we have costs money, and we're never going to make money on these buildings … But what we do is we're offering services to the community,” Sherman said. “It's not the building that makes it special; it's programming that's in there.”

All City Council members voted to approve the HVAC bid except Young, who voted no, and Pamela Eyden, who was absent from the meeting.

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