City leaders are taking a renewed look at the idea of incorporating a meeting space in one of the buildings that will make up the new sewage treatment plant in downtown Oak Harbor.

The council unanimously decided Tuesday to direct its contractors to provide revised drawings of a building with a larger community meeting space and come up with cost estimates for the redesigned structure.

They asked that the information to be available by their Dec. 15 meeting.

IT APPEARED during a workshop last month that the majority of council members were backing away from the proposal for a community room after finding out that it was going to be smaller and cost more than they expected.

That changed Tuesday after hearing arguments from members of the chamber of commerce, a county commissioner and Councilman Joel Servatius, who is particularly passionate about the issue.

“I think it’s realistic, I think it’s needed, I think it’s doable,” he said, “and I think it could be available in 24 months, rather than a decade.”

Servatius and others emphasized that such a community room — a space for large meetings or conferences — is consistently identified in studies and surveys of residents as an important asset that’s missing from the city.

CHAMBER PRESIDENT Jason McFadyen and Director Christine Cribb said that the space could be a tool for economic revitalization; Cribb said the chamber receives calls three or four times a month from groups looking for a conference-type venue in the city.

McFadyen pointed out that the project was sold to the public with an implied promise that it would help boost the economy downtown.

“It’s time to stop talking about economic development and start doing something about economic development,” he said.

Servatius read a letter from Island County Commissioner Jill Johnson, an Oak Harbor resident. She argued that any cost savings now is far less valuable than what can be gained.

“When the Windjammer Park site was selected for the new sewer-treatment plant, the community was assured, multiple times and on many public occasions,” she wrote, “that that the council understood the value of the park location and promises were made not to ‘cheap out’ even in the face of public pressure.”

Oak Harbor resident Erica Wasinger noted that nonprofit organizations in the community have a need for a meeting space. She said weddings are a huge industry and a tasteful space could draw more of the ceremonies to the city.

ORIGINALLY, THE proposal was to build a 200-person community room or training room on the second floor of one of the buildings. The room would have views of the water, Windjammer Park and the windmill in the park.

City Engineer Joe Stowell said during an interview that the building was downsized to cut costs during the value engineering phase. As a result, the proposal that came to the council was for a 4,000-square-foot room, which was large enough for 146 people without tables or 102 people with tables.

The estimated cost was $2.4 million, significantly higher than what the council expected.

Stowell said that it’s still unclear exactly why the price-per-foot is so high, but that it will drop if the building is larger.

The majority of council members made it clear during the workshop meeting they wouldn’t support the community room if it was as small as the one proposed.

On Tuesday, City Administrator Doug Merriman discussed the funding options for the community room. He proposed that it could be funded from the sewage fund that comes from rates residents pay, the city’s general fund or a combination of the two.

He previously said that each additional $1 million added to the price tag of the sewage treatment project would add about an additional $1 a month to the sewage rate.

In addition, he and others said there were other possible funding sources, notably the county’s rural county economic development funds.

Servatius said Johnson told him the city should apply for at least $1 million of the funds.

Still, some council members expressed concerns.

Councilman Rick Almberg said he is worried that redesigning the building might delay the project, pushing costs higher.

Almberg argued that the city should first complete a master plan for Windjammer Park and then build a stand-alone building at a more reasonable cost.

He said the money could be better spent elsewhere in the park.

“Can you imagine what that money, $2.4 million, will do to enhance the park?” he said.

COUNCILMAN JIM Campbell proposed that a larger waterfront conference center could be built at a different spot; he suggested that a private company could do it.

Councilman Bob Severns also expressed concerns about how the city staff could manage the facility.

Both Campbell and Severns are running for mayor of Oak Harbor.

The council unanimously supported Servatius’ motion to look at building a larger space; he asked for a space capable of holding a minimum of 250 people with auditorium-style seating.

Servatius said that the council “dropped the ball” by not giving the staff clear instructions about the project but that it’s not to late to rectify the situation.

Stowell said it might be possible to increase the size of the building by changing its alignment within the campus of buildings that will make up the sewage treatment plant.

In fact, he said, it might make the views from the room even better.