PONDERAY — The City Council unanimously tabled a resolution that would allow for the Ponderay Aquatic Center Endowment to submit a Gem grant application on behalf of the city on Monday.

Councilors Rick Larkin and Brenda Thompson expressed unease at the idea after reading the grant's description, which says it could only be used for projects focused on job creation and economic diversification. Both said the grant’s required 20% match was an additional source of weariness for them. 

“I'm not in favor of it, the way this reads,” Larkin said. “It says some examples of IGG projects, water and sewer infrastructure, remediation of slum and blight conditions, blocking business development and matching funds for creation of assets with a high certainty of aiding future economic development efforts. And none of this really fits this.” 

Councilors were unclear where the 20% match of the potential $50,000 grant would come from as it was not mentioned during PACE’s Feb. 2 presentation to the council. Mayor Steve Geiger said it’s his understanding that PACE isn’t asking the city for anything, other than a place to build the facility. 

PACE Secretary Joan Bloom told the council that the grant would go toward geotechnical engineering and study the sustainability of the ground where the organization hopes to build an aquatic center and ice rink.  

“It is probable that the ground issues are going to be more critical than the above ground issues for the ice rink in the pool,” Bloom said on Feb. 2. “If there are additional funds left over, we do more detailed architectural concepts as to what would be in the center and get that started for both the pool and the ice rink.” 

According to the Gem grant application, “architect and engineering” services are an eligible cost for projects that either create jobs or diversify the economy.  

Geiger said that other cities have partnered with nonprofits to apply for the Gem grant. Councilor Phil McNearney said he would like to see the city reach out to those cities and see how the process went for them. 

“I think there needs to be a lot more information,” Larkin said. “That’s a good idea checking out and seeing what other ones have done.”  

PACE announced its plans for the recreation center in June 2025, which would feature a community and competitive pool and an NHL-sized indoor ice rink. On PACE’s website, the organization envisions the facility as an extension of the city’s Field of Dreams complex. 

The Gem grant opens four times a year, and the resolution being tabled means that PACE will miss the first deadline on March 16. The earliest that PACE and Ponderay could apply for the grant again would be in June. 

“I want to make sure that we do plenty of work and that everybody is completely comfortable always with these types of [things],” Geiger said.