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voted against putting the sales tax question on the ballot. "I don't believe we have the bandwidth <br />to financially afford this," he said. <br />Some cities have gotten creative to keep their centers afloat. The Maplewood Community Center <br />was losing $300,000 to $500,000 per year before the city turned over operations to the YMCA <br />in 2016. Now, the city is responsible for exterior building maintenance and the YMCA does <br />everything else, making it a "win-win" for everyone, said Melinda Coleman, Maplewood's former <br />city manager. <br />In West St. Paul, the city was left without a community center when the YMCA closed in 2019. <br />Officials recently discussed results of a survey, conducted with neighboring Mendota Heights, <br />that gauged demand for a community center. A previous proposal estimated a midsize <br />community center would cost $40 million to $60 million. <br />Mayor Dave Napier said figuring out "the threshold of subsidy from the community" may <br />determine whether one is built in West St. Paul. He noted the camaraderie he sees when he <br />brings his grandkids to community centers to play, with birthday parties and neighbors waving <br />hello. <br />"In a perfect world, we would have a community center," he said. <br />Erin Adler is a suburban reporter covering Dakota and Scott counties for the Star Tribune, working <br />breaking news shifts on Sundays. She previously spent three years covering K-12 education in the south <br />metro and five months covering Carver County. <br />erin.adler@startribune.com 612-673-1781 <br /> <br />