INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Indian River County Board of Commissioners today voted to increase funding for renovation of aging motel rooms at Historic Dodgertown.
In June, as part of a 5-year lease agreement, the county agreed to provide $600,000 to refurbish 67 rooms at the sports training and tournament faculty. The rooms were originally used by Brooklyn and then Los Angeles Dodger players during spring training but are now occupied by members of visiting youth and professional sports teams that train and play at the complex.
According to county staff, the lowest viable bid for the work came in at $634,000. In response, to stay within commission guidelines, staff recommended eliminating 6 rooms from the project and going ahead with renovation of 61 rooms at the approved cost of $600,000.
Commissioner Peter O’Bryan pulled the staff recommendation, which was included in consent agenda, and said that, in his opinion, it made more sense to provide the extra $34,000 and renovate all the rooms so the facility would be fully updated and more attractive to prospective users, who pay fees to stay at the motel and use the playing fields and also spend money in the community at restaurants, gas stations, shops and other venues.
O’Bryan’s suggestion was strongly supported by Commission Chairman Joe Flescher who said the time had come to upgrade the facility.
“We have seen quite a bit of energy at Historic Dodgertown recently, and I believe the added amount will (keep the momentum going),” Flescher said.
County Administrator Joe Baird said it would not be a problem for the county to provide the additional funds out of optional sales tax.
“We can do that,” he said.
County Budget Director Jason Brown indicated a savings of about $1,000 per room would be generated by bidding out and doing all the room renovations as a single project.
O’Bryan made a motion to amend the lease agreement to include full funding for the renovations, which will take place in stages so as to keep most rooms open for occupancy at any given time.
The motion passed 3 to 1, with Commissioners O’Bryan, Flescher and Tim Zorc making up the majority. Commissioner Wesley Davis was absent and Commissioner Bob Solari, who opposes county support for Dodgertown, voted against the motion.
