While Warrenton city officials agree that an aquatic portion is too expensive to include in an indoor recreation center, a funding shortfall has left the proposed project in limbo. Without the aquatic portion of the indoor facility, the annual funding deficit is estimated to be $264,482. The shortfall increases to $587,208 if the aquatic center is included, according to an updated funding analysis of the project. The potential annual debt service of a $10.3 million facility is $775,000, but it rises between $965,000 and $1,111,000 if an aquatic portion is built in a $13 to $15 million facility. City officials are considering constructing an indoor facility that would include a gymnasium, walking track, fitness equipment and multipurpose rooms. It would be built on 7 acres the city owns along Market Street behind the Warrenton 8 Cinema complex. City officials have scheduled a work session on Tuesday, Dec. 20, to discuss the proposed project further and determine how they should proceed. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m., one hour prior to the start of the regular board of aldermen meeting. "The numbers without the aquatic certainly helped the situation, but does not afford us the opportunity with our current level of sales tax to be able to fund this with those two levels of sources," said Terri Thorn, director of operations/finance officer. Officials renewed their interest in the indoor facility earlier this year. Voters defeated a half-cent sales tax increase by 76 votes to fund the project in November 2008. Had the proposal passed, the city's sales tax would have increased from 7.975 to 8.475 cents. A simple majority was needed for passage. The city has until Jan. 24, 2012, to place another sales tax measure on the ballot for the April election. Even if a sales tax initiative was passed, officials agree an aquatic center would need to be eliminated from any proposed project to help lower construction and operating costs. Even then, they still don't know if the city can afford the project. A lot of the uncertainty relates to sales tax revenue received by the city that is needed for the project. If a half-cent sales tax was passed, estimated revenue to help pay for the project would be $731,379, of which $650,919 would be generated from the new tax. However, in addition to the annual debt service payment, the facility is expected to have an operating loss of $220,861 without the aquatic portion and $353,587 if the swimming area is included. Another option the city is expected to consider is to proceed with placing a sales tax increase on the ballot, but to delay construction on the rec center should voters approve the proposal. That would allow the city to build up funds for the project and help lower the annual debt service payment. "One thing that did come out of (an online survey) is there is strong public support and desire for it," Ward 3 Alderman Don Broering said. "It's not like it's a project that is not wanted and wouldn't be supported. It's a matter of financing it." Included in a feasibility study was an online survey conducted between mid-September and Oct. 21 that showed strong public support remains for an indoor recreation center. Three years after voters narrowly shot down a sales tax increase, 75.1 percent responded that they would vote in favor of a proposal to fund the indoor facility. Another 9.9 percent said they might vote for the facility, with 11.7 percent and 3.3 percent stating they would vote against or were unsure, respectively. A similar survey conducted in 2008 revealed that 53 percent of respondents said they would vote in favor, while 17 percent stated they opposed a sales tax increase for the project. In another survey question this year, 33 percent showed support for a quarter-cent sales tax increase, 29.7 percent for a half-cent sales tax and 18.3 percent for a one-tenth sales tax. Nineteen percent said they were opposed to a sales tax increase, a figure that decreased in half compared to 2008 results. Survey results also showed 76.4 percent of respondents said they would visit the facility at least once a week if it offered programming that was most important to their families, while another 12.7 percent said they would visit less than once a month. The city received 313 responses from this year's survey that was open to everyone. In 2008, 413 responses were received from a survey that was open only to city residents. The city paid $21,250 to Ballard King and Consultants, a firm specializing in recreation facility planning and operations, to update a feasibility study this year. This was the same company that completed the study in 2008.