City approves plan to go ahead with Skylon lease

HARTINGTON — The Hartington City Council Tuesday approved a lease-to-buy plan to purchase the Skylon Ballroom once the facility has been moved to a new location.

The Council made the decision in a special noon meeting Tuesday attended by about 20 area residents, many of whom expressed their displeasure with the idea.

Rich Pedersen said, like many in the audience, he thought the issue was dead after voters rejected a $1.1 million bond proposal in May.

Mayor Mark Becker said he and the rest of the Council felt the May vote was against the funding mechanism, not the idea of saving the Skylon.

'Since the election, we've had quite a few people come forward asking us how we could save the Skylon,' Becker said.

After discussions with Skylon owner Roger Wortmann, it was decided Wortmann would take on the expense of moving the building, insuring it, putting it onto a new lot west of Bomgaars, and adding a new addition to the front of the building for a new entrance and restroom.

The city agreed Tuesday they will then purchase the facility for $1.05 million over seven years at five percent interest.

Becker said city sales tax will be used to make the purchase, noting the city generates about $30,000 a month in uncommitted funds it receives through the city sales tax.

Becker said the city would like to use half of those funds to make annual payments of $150,000 on the building. The city currently has about $450,000 in that account, he said. Those funds would also be used on the purchase.

Becker said the Council feels the city needs to do something to make sure Hartington has an event center.

'We feel we're taking a step backward if we lose an event center in town,' Becker said. 'We feel that a brand new building is very difficult to fund or pass. This option looks to be our best opportunity to have an event center in Hartington. If we don't do this project we will probably go without an event center for quite some time — if we ever get one back.' While there may be a need for such a facility in town, some local residents feel the city is taking the wrong approach to get the facility built.

“We voted ‘no’ on this once. It’s our money. You can spend a million dollars of our money and we can’t vote on it. It’s not right,” Tom Miller said.

Pedersen questioned whether the Council had considered other options, as well, such as working with the Cedar County Ag Society at the Fairgrounds.

“The Fair option has been looked at,” Becker said “They do not have the appetite to do something like this.”

Other audience members questioned why another vote couldn’t be taken. Becker said it’s all about timing.

“The problem is the project has got to start now, or we lose it,” Becker said.

Councilman Roman Sudbeck said Wortmann has already extended the deadline once, and can’t be expected to keep extending that deadline.

“The reason people want to move to Hartington is because of all the things we have to offer,” Becker said. “I’d hate to go backward and lose that event center.”

After a 50-minute discussion, the Council voted 3-0 to proceed. Councilmen Cody Christensen and Colin Kathol were absent from the meeting.