St. Cloud City Council Weighs Temporary Sales Tax to Close $7M Gap for YMCA Waterpark

(KNSI) – During a work session on Monday, the city council discussed the idea of a local sales tax to help bring an outdoor waterpark at the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA to life.

City Administrator Tracy Hodel told KNSI News the YMCA faces a $7 million funding shortfall to complete the project, and the tax would be temporary. “It depends on what the scenarios we would be presenting. We talked about maybe a tenth of a penny for five or six years or a quarter of a penny for two or three years.”

Hodel emphasized that any tax must first gain city council approval before it’s presented to the state legislature for authorization. If it gets the go-ahead there, the city would have up to two years to present the measure to voters in a referendum. If all of the pieces fall into place, the earliest a sales tax could appear on a ballot would be the fall 2026 general election.

Due to a January 31st deadline for submitting proposals to the state Senate and House Tax Committees, city staff says the initial resolution will likely include only St. Cloud, rather than other area communities that also use the facility.

In July, St. Cloud Area Family YMCA Executive Director Greg Gack said they had raised $11 million of the $15 million needed for the project and were making a final push for the remaining $4 million. The fundraising deadline was set for Labor Day 2025 to avoid higher construction costs. That deadline came and went, as did the hopes of a groundbreaking before the end of last year. Gack didn’t offer an explanation for the sudden difference compared to six months ago.

Speaking with KNSI News moments after the meeting, he felt the council’s consideration marked a significant milestone. “It’s exciting that the council is having these conversations and the opportunity that can be put in place to help us really close the funding gap that’s needed to bring this regional water park to our community. We’ve been talking about it, meaning the community, for multiple years now, and this would be an important step for us to bring it to life and get a shovel in the ground.”

When Gack was asked what would happen to donation dollars if the project does not come to fruition, he said it’s too early to talk about that scenario.

The council directed city staff to draft a resolution seeking a local sales tax to be ready for review at the January 26th meeting. If it’s approved at that meeting, it would then be submitted to the Minnesota Legislature for approval.

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