Was Greensboro's $19,588,000 Aquatic Center $18,300,000, before $19,588,000? Are the $130,000 operating costs now more than $400,000?

"You might say it's 18.3 million dollars, but it might.. between operating costs,
it might cost you 40 or 50 million dollars to run the thing for ten years
and you need to think about those questions,"
...says Neal Cooksey, Mecklenberg County Commissioner.

"We've got a contract to build it, and we've got bonds set aside to pay for it.

So we're going to build it as part of an overall strategy
and we're not going to second guess that strategy based on what Charlotte's doing
to close their 95 million dollar budget gap,"
says ...Robbie Perkins, Greensboro City Council member.

The projected operating cost of Greensboro's larger 58-thousand square foot facility
is $130,000 next year.

But, not everyone's convinced it's a bill the Gate City can handle.

"It makes me nervous when I don't see the money in the bank to pay for it,"
says Mary Rakestraw, Greensboro City Council member.

She doesn't want to make waves, but thinks the projected costs to run it are too low.

..."It's easy to build things and it's easy to spend money when times are good,
you just gotta be prepared for when times are bad," says Cooksey

...The Mecklenberg commissioner added Charlotte's mistake
was building more than the city could afford to maintain."

WFMY News 2
May 11, 2010