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Baldwin City Recreation Commission director Steve Friend brought a request Monday to the Baldwin City school board for a 1-mill levy property tax increase to help build the first phase of a proposed community center.

It was the first time Friend has addressed the school board about the community center since November. At that time, the board’s position was it could commit to a request to increase the BCRC’s annual property tax authority from 4 mills to 6.75 mills to provide half the $5 million needed to construct the community center because of uncertainty with state school financing.

The other half of the proposed community center funding would be raised through a city half-cent sales tax, which would have to be approved by city voters in a referendum. The BCRC mill levy increase, however, would only require approval through a districtwide referendum should it be challenged by a successful protest petition.

Friend told the board Monday that consultant Piper Jaffray estimated a half-cent sales tax and 1-mill property tax levy would provide $3.95 million in revenue during the next 25 years to retire the community center’s bonded debt. He added that a BCRC survey indicated that $200,000 to $400,000 could be raised through a capital campaign to build the community center on district property northwest of Baldwin High School, which the board has agreed to donate for the project.

Friend said new plans proposed the community center be constructed in two phases with the first $3.85 million phase to include an indoor basketball court, jogging track, fitness area, a multipurpose room, lobby and offices for the BCRC and the school district. Phase 2 would include a swimming facility that had been part of previous community center plans.

Board members, however, said they weren’t comfortable with approving the 1-mill increase if it would be viewed as annual “rent” for new district offices in the building. The 1-mill increase would provide more than just the district offices in the 24,399-square-foot building, Friend said, but he agreed to have plans developed without the district offices with an estimate of how much that would reduce the needed mill levy support. The information would be shared with the board at its May 15 meeting.

Board members also said they wanted to hear from district constituents at that May meeting before making a decision on the property tax increase.

“We want to be as transparent as possible,” Board President Nick Harris said. “To make it transparent, we have to publicize it before we make a decision.”

Friend said he would update the Baldwin City Council on the community center today. He would propose the city schedule a referendum on the half-cent sales tax for Aug. 1, which is the date of any primary elections needed for this year’s city and school district elections.

The board followed up the community center discussion with consideration of the possible disposal of the district office, maintenance shop and storage on the 700 block of Chapel Street. It was suggested the district could use its revenue from the sale of the property and the vacant block north of the 500 block of Chapel Street to pay for district offices in the future community center. It was agreed, however, that would not address the need for a maintenance shop and storage. With that, Superintendent Paul Dorathy agreed to develop figures of how much it would cost to build those facilities on property the district owns south of Baldwin Junior High School.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the purchase of 150 iPads for $59,100. During discussion the previous two months, the board agreed to purchase the devices for Baldwin High School’s incoming 2017-2018 freshman class while the district explores other technology solutions for the school.

• Approved a 2017-2018 fee schedule that kept all-day kindergarten, textbooks, activities, transportation and iPad take-home fees the same as the current year, but increased lunch fees by 10 cents.