College Station city council consensus supports 2027 bond election for a proposed recreation center

This podcast contains comments from the May 18, 2026 College Station city council meeting.A city of College Station recreation center has been before the city council since 2023.Monday night (May 18) at the end of one hour of discussion, there was a consensus to hold a bond election in 2027 to gauge voter interest.Councilwoman Melissa McIlhaney initiated the idea after saying she did not want to pay anymore money to consultants and she does not want more staff time devoted to the project.Councilmembers were told building a center could cost as much as $91 million dollars and it could cost almost $4 million dollars a year to operate it.One unresolved issue is what the center would offer.The council also did not recommend a location. That's after the council appointed parks and recreation board recommended city owned land in the Midtown district and a council appointed steering committee chose the former Macy's store property that the city also owns. A third option brought up by both groups and the council's consultant is buying land at Fitch and Victoria.Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the May 18, 2026 College Station city council meeting.