Everyone at a City Council meeting agreed building a performing arts center would good for the city.

The snags were the issues of planning and the payment.

A day after a proposed 99-year lease agreement between Lake Havasu City and the Allied Arts Council for the Kiowa Ponds area was effectively tabled, Mayor Mark Nexsen said the decision came down to “a matter of priorities.”

Nexsen noted the city still needs a second bridge to the Island and has other projects planned. He also described the lease proposal from the arts council as “vague.”

Nexsen said before the city can commit a valuable piece of city-owned property to the Allied Arts Council, it needs assurances the community is behind the project.

“They haven't done a community assessment to determine if there is enough public interest,” said Nexsen. “This was done before we began raising money for the Business Park.”

The AAC admitted most cultural centers are funded through grants and private donations, necessitating high public interest to keep the program financially afloat. The AAC also said Kiowa Ponds isn't its first choice for land but that it was the only piece of property large enough that is owned by the city.

Arts council members hope in the next few years to obtain usable land either in the Body Beach area or attached to the proposed four-year university. Both projects still only are in the planning stages with no guarantees.

AAC President-elect Alan Hall said they're hoping to trade Kiowa Ponds for other options should they become available but, without alternatives, “It's all we can negotiate for,” he said.

The lease presented a tentative timetable that wouldn't have the center opening until 2020. It also noted collection of “seed money” before any committees are formed and that funding for construction wouldn't begin until 2014.

Nexsen wanted a tighter timeline which Hall said already is being reworked.

“We have a new timeline already, but it hasn't been ratified by our council yet. I think we need to make sure the contract is in order and it is something acceptable to City Council.”

On the financial side, Councilman Brian Wedemeyer pointed out the property tax angle of the Kiowa Property and what the city stands to lose by not rezoning the area commercial or residential.

“What can we lose until an alternate location is found?” Wedemeyer asked, emphasizing the city needs money for other big projects before it gets to an arts center.

Nexsen agreed, pointing to the city's big issues.

“I'm all for the cultural center,” said Nexsen on Tuesday night. “But I'm also working with people who can't pay their sewer bills and will wonder why we gave a piece of land worth $4 million away for $99.”

The lease agreement stated the rent would be $1 per year and Hall said he was aware the lease wouldn't be a “slam dunk.”

“The contract was generated by the city and it really was the first time anyone had taken a hard look at it,” said Hall.

Not all of City Council was in agreement, though, Councilman Dennis Schilling extolled the virtues of a cultural arts center and what it would mean to Lake Havasu City.

“I think we need to embark on this lease and let these folks get to work,” said Schilling.

However, that became another point of contention with Nexsen as he said on Wednesday that the plan, as presented, did not appear able to deliver what was being promised.

“Their responses to my questions weren't adequate to approve the lease,” said Nexsen, referring specifically to the 14-year timeline before the center would even open and no apparent plan on how “seed money” would be spent.

“What are you going to buy with it?” he asked. “Seeds?”

The Kiowa Ponds area was approved for sale by voters in 2000. However, an attempt to rezone the area as commercial property failed in December 2004 after complaints by neighboring residents. The state spent 2005 testing the groundwater under Kiowa Ponds for toxicity.

You may contact the reporter at ditullio@havasunews.com.