Grumble of Protest Over Price of Civic Center Becomes a Howl : Escondido: New estimate pushes cost of project--originally put at $52 million--to $74.3 million.

When Escondido residents approved a redevelopment district to finance a $52-million civic and cultural center in 1985, it was not without quite a bit of grumbling over the price tag.

Now that designers have “refined” cost estimates for the center, that grumbling has become a howl.

That $52-million estimate, which some believe included the $17-million City Hall completed in 1988, grew to $63.7 million earlier this year, and now is at $73.4 million--a figure that raises the eyebrows of even the staunchest of supporters.

The most recent cost estimates, released this week, were defended by Marilyn Whisenand, executive director of the the city Community Development Commission, as “not out of line with other, similar facilities.”

But Escondido Councilman Kris Murphy said he is “both surprised and concerned at these new cost estimates.

“I thought we, the council, had pinned down the cost of the center. It was my understanding that when we accepted a $63.7-million figure for the center earlier this year, that that was it. It was a cap. It was frozen at that amount.”

“There are a lot of tough questions to be asked and we need to hear from the community, see how they feel about this,” Murphy said.

That is exactly what the City Council will do, ask questions of their community development staff and listen to the people express their opinions on what should be done--scale down the project or boost the budget--at a workshop scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the new City Hall.

The cultural center plan endorsed by voters in 1985 included a large amphitheater, a 2,500-seat Lyric Theater, a 400-seat community playhouse, and 800-capacity conference center and a visual arts center containing galleries, a library wing and studios, something for every cultural taste in the super-block between Escondido Boulevard and Broadway, north of Valley Parkway.

Several years ago, the amphitheater was scratched from the plans and in 1987, the Lyric Theater was reduced to 1,500 seats. In recent weeks, a citizens committee studied the project and suggested, if the additional funds could not be found, deferring construction of the meeting center (a savings of $4.1 million), postponing purchase of the smaller community theater’s equipment ($1 million savings) or deferring construction of the studio and library wing of the art center ($1.5 million savings).

Whisenand and her staff already have made about $1 million in deferrals and are recommending that the council, sitting as CDC commissioners, authorize the entire construction package go out for bid in mid-November, then make any needed cuts before bids are awarded in mid-January, thus avoiding an immediate confrontation with the city’s different arts and business factions, each willing to fight for its favorite pieces of the cultural center pie.

“There couldn’t be a better time to go out to bid than now,” Whisenand said. “The economy is soft right now and there are a lot of contractors out there looking for work. Possibly we may get some very favorable bids.”

Inflation, geologic problems and escalating costs of equipment for the two center theaters are the chief reasons for the most recent jump in price for the four-unit cultural center, Whisenand said.

The 1,500-seat Lyric Theater and the 400-seat Patio Playhouse will require steel pilings instead of cheaper pre-cast concrete underpinnings, she explained. Also, the prices of mechanical, electrical and plumbing components of the two theaters have risen rapidly because the demand for cultural complexes has escalated, adding $4 million of the $5.6 million in construction cost increases, she said.

Councilwoman Carla DeDominicis said she had “several reservations about the cultural center. Most importantly, can we afford it and can we afford to maintain it? However, I would guess that we will agree to continue to design it and go out to bid and see what the bids come back as, then decide which way to go from there.

“If we go back now and have the architects redo the project, it will end up costing us more,” she explained.

DeDominicis and Mayor Jerry Harmon are charged with overseeing the cultural center progress for the City Council, so the cost increase did not come as a surprise to her. “Not only the construction costs but the cost of maintaining it are a concern,” she said, explaining that there are estimates that the center’s annual maintenance bill could exceed its yearly revenues by as much as $2 million.

Harmon, the only council incumbent who was in office when the cultural arts center was being planned and discussed, was out of town and could not be reached for comment.

Ernie Cowan, a veteran on the Escondido council until he was defeated last June, remembers that the $52-million figure given to voters in 1985 “was just a rough estimate and people knew that it was going to go up.

“We (on the council) knew that we would be having to make choices, but I didn’t want to do it just for the sake of economy. In a lot of things, you get what you pay for. I remember that on the City Hall, we decided to buy some exorbitantly expensive paint, not the cheaper stuff, because it meant the difference between having to paint the building every two or three years or having to paint it only once in 15 years,” Cowan explained.

To reduce drastically the size and functions in the proposed cultural center “would be like doing open heart surgery on the city. We need this center as the centerpiece of downtown revitalization. It’s good for the entire community and I hope that the council is not be swayed by naysayers,” Cowan said.

Cowan added, however, that he was not opposed to phased construction of the cultural center buildings over several years as the funds became available.

Councilman Sid Hollins, who was elected to the council in June, took a wait-and-see attitude.

“I want to hear what the people have to say about this and I am concerned that if we only have two or three hours, not everyone will have a chance to speak. We may have to schedule another session,” Hollins said.

Hollins also said he was concerned that no cuts be made which would decrease the center’s popularity and usability.

“If the center isn’t used, we’re in trouble,” Hollins commented.

Councilman Murphy, despite his concern over the increased cost estimates, conceded that: “This is a good project for the city and a much-needed one, but affordability is the bottom line.”