1. Executive Summary
The purpose of this proposal is to formally request the support of the Jackson City Council to initiate planning for a FIRST EVER Jackson Community & Recreation Center. A multi-functional facility envisioned as a vibrant, multi-generational hub anchored by a recreational roller skating rink that doubles as a premium community event space. Design will feature a modular layout, leaving room to integrate a secondary major community asset, such as a community pool or a bowling alley on the adjacent side of the building.

To initiate this project, we request two immediate actions from the council:

Financial Infrastructure: Authorize the establishment of a dedicated municipal bank account to accept project donations and grant funds.

Site Assessment: Commission a task force to review potential municipal and public sites large enough to accommodate this phased, multi-use recreational footprint. Such as a portion of the Panbowl Industrial Parks remaining 21 Acres, adjacent other current commercial spaces.

2. Statement of Need
Jackson and Breathitt County possess a resilient, close-knit community, yet our youth, families, and seniors lack a centralized, vibrant indoor space for healthy recreation, physical activity, and social gathering. Currently, local families must travel out of the county for basic recreational entertainment like skating or bowling. By building a local facility, we keep entertainment dollars within Jackson while providing our citizens with a safe, positive environment. Additionally, we will attract business from other nearby areas.

Key Community Gaps Addressed: The "Anchor" Asset (Roller Skating & Event Space): A roller skating rink offers an active, high-energy outlet for youth and teenagers, while seamlessly doubling as a large-scale civic event space. With a modular floor cover, this space can host major community traditions, seasonal events (such as a community Halloween Dance), youth sports, and local expos.

Future-Proof Modular Design: Rather than building a single-use facility, proposal advocates for a dual-wing layout. While one side hosts the skating and event arena, the other side will be reserved for a high-demand secondary use—such as a community pool to serve as a year-round wellness center, or a bowling alley to drive consistent weekend foot traffic and league revenue.

Youth Retention & Safety: Centering this near Jackson's "educational village" gives students a safe, constructive place to go immediately after school, reducing unsupervised loitering and fostering community pride.

The Bottom Line: This is not just a building; it is an investment in Jackson’s quality of life. By blending active recreation with event space, we create a self-sustaining hub that captures local tourism and boosts civic pride while also creating a few more jobs.

3. Financial Request:
Establishing a Dedicated Account To fund the design, site acquisition, and construction without placing an immediate burden on the city’s operating budget, we can pursue state/federal recreation grants, coal-severance economic development funds, and private donations. To qualify for these opportunities, we must establish the proper financial infrastructure.

Requested Action:

We ask the City Council to pass a resolution to establish a dedicated, restricted municipal bank account under the City of Jackson's financial umbrella, specifically designated for the Jackson Community & Recreation Center Project.

Purpose of the Account: Grant compliance, Federal and state recreation grants (such as Land and Water Conservation Funds) require a dedicated, auditable public account to receive and hold funds.

Philanthropic & Corporate Donations: A transparent city mechanism allows us to accept tax-deductible private donations from local businesses, citizens, and regional foundations.

Financial Integrity: Standardizing all revenue specifically for this project ensures absolute transparency and guarantees that every dollar raised is strictly applied to the community center.

4. Proposed Site Selection Framework

Because the centers vision includes a roller skating rink (17,000 square feet) and a potential secondary wing (pool or bowling alley), the site selection process requires a larger footprint than a standard office building, along with ample parking (110 spaces) and high visibility. Total minimum 2 acres, roughly 4 acres preferably for added field or community garden.

Propose evaluating three potential site categories: Site Option Pros Cons Expanded

Downtown / Multi-Lot Plot Highly walkable for local students; drives foot traffic to existing downtown businesses. May require assembly of multiple parcels or demolition.

City-Owned Acreage (Outskirts/Highways) Ample square footage for a large building, parking, and future outdoor expansion. Less walkable; requires dependable student/family transportation.

Repurposed Commercial/Industrial Spaces Large open-span layouts (ideal for a skating rink and bowling alley); slashes construction timelines. Needs thorough inspection for zoning and retrofitting.

Critical Site Criteria:
Flood Resilience: The site must be thoroughly vetted against updated floodplain data to ensure the long-term protection of this major municipal investment.

Structural Scale: The chosen site must be capable of supporting a phased buildout (e.g., Phase 1: Skating Rink/Event Space; Phase 2: Pool or Bowling Wing).

5. Funding and Operational Expectations
Between donations from private individuals and community businesses, grants and other funding sources the project will eventually succeed.

Eastern Kentucky is highly eligible for USDA Rural Development Grants and federal Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) funding. These grants frequently cover up to 50% to 75% of community facility projects in rural areas.

Community Development Block Grant program was created for. HUD explicitly lists "Neighborhood Facilities" (Matrix Code 03E) and "Parks, Recreational Facilities" (Matrix Code 03F) as highly eligible public facilities.

However, getting HUD to approve a project like this depends entirely on where you build it, who it serves, and how it is operated.

The Three Rules for Approval
To successfully use CDBG dollars for a community center and skating rink, the project must clear three major federal hurdles:

The Location Requirement (Area Benefit)
Because a roller skating rink serves the public at large rather than a specific "limited clientele" (like a senior center or a homeless shelter), it must qualify under what HUD calls the Low/Mod Area Benefit (LMA).

The Rule: The community center must be located in a primarily residential neighborhood where at least 51% of the residents are low- to moderate-income households (based on Census data).

The Trap: If you propose building this in an affluent part of town, HUD will reject it, because the primary beneficiaries wouldn't be the population CDBG is legally mandated to help.

Fees and Public Accessibility HUD allows public facilities to charge usage fees, but they cannot be exclusionary. You can charge admission or skate rental fees to help cover the rink's upkeep. However, those fees must be affordable so they don't prevent low- and moderate-income families in the neighborhood from using the facility. The primary purpose must remain a public community asset, not a commercial enterprise.

Construction Costs vs. Operations
CDBG money is fantastic for capital development, but it is notoriously rigid regarding long-term maintenance.

Eligible: You can use the grant for land acquisition, architectural design, engineering, demolition, building construction, and installing the actual roller rink flooring/infrastructure.

Ineligible: You cannot use standard CDBG public facility funds to pay for the day-to-day operations, utility bills, or staff salaries of the rink once it opens. The city or a non-profit partner must have a solid plan to fund the ongoing operations.

💡 How Cities Actually Pull This Off
Because building a brand-new community center from scratch can easily exhaust a city's entire annual CDBG allocation, municipalities usually use a few specific strategies to make it happen:
The Section 108 Loan Guarantee: This is a hidden gem in the CDBG program. Section 108 allows a city to borrow up to five times its annual CDBG grant amount from the federal government to fund massive, legacy capital projects (like a community center) and pay it back over 20 years using their future annual CDBG allocations.

Public-Private Operating Partnerships: A city will often use CDBG funds to build or rehabilitate the physical facility, and then contract a third-party non-profit (like a YMCA or Boys & Girls Club) or a commercial operator to manage the skating rink. The contract explicitly guarantees low-cost or free neighborhood nights to satisfy HUD’s national objective.

6. Requested Next Steps & Resolution

To move this vital recreation project forward, we formally ask the Jackson City Council to approve the following measures tonight:

Motion to Approve the creation of a restricted, interest-bearing "Jackson Community & Recreation Center Development Account.

Appoint a 3-to-5 member Site Selection Committee (example consisting of city officials, local school representatives, and community members) to identify and report back within 60 days on 3 viable locations capable of housing a multi-use recreational facility.

Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your continued dedication to making Jackson a vibrant place to live, play, and grow.

Jason Hall

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