An effort is underway to bring the Fieldhouse Salina project to a public vote.

At a special meeting on February 16th, Salina City Commissioners approved contributing up to $7 million to the project via bonds. At the same meeting commissioners also approved  a design that would cost around $12 million. An exact cost of the project will not be known until April,

Previously, in 2015 the city had agreed to contribute up to $4.5 million to the project, with supporters raising private funds for the rest.

The project was initially expected to cost $9 million total. But that total was based on 2013 estimates.

On Tuesday a petition was turned into Saline County Counselor Mike Montoya.

The petition was put together by Salinans John Price and Ray Hruska. Price is a county commissioner, while Hruska is a concerned citizen who attends numerous city and county public meetings.

The two tell KSAL News that they simply want the public to vote on the multi-million dollar project. “I think that there are a lot of people out there who think this is just too much,” Price said.

Fieldhouse Salina is expected to help generate other projects, and investors. Potential projects include, but are not limited to:

• A high-end, 120-room, five-story hotel on Mulberry between Santa Fe and Fifth streets built by Salina-based Blue Beacon International.
• Two museums, including the “Wings Over Salina Aviation Experience” and an automobile museum.
• A bowling alley and indoor fun center.

Plans also include narrowing Santa Fe from a four-lane street to a three-lane street. Traffic would flow in one lane in each direction, with a center turning lane. The redesign would open up more sidewalk space, thus opening up outdoor seating for downtown businesses.

Price said that Montoya is determining if the wording on the petition is acceptable. He anticipates getting it back within 5 days.

Once the wording is approved, 518 valid signatures are required on the petition to bring the issue to a public vote.