ELK POINT —Elk Point is officially taking a seat at the table as municipalities in the St. Paul region begin exploring a new multipurpose recreation facility — but Town council is making it clear that enthusiasm for a regional project has to come with a realistic look at the bill.

Council appointed representatives to the new Regional Multipurpose Recreational Facility Steering Committee during its Aug. 24 meeting.

The committee stems from the Regional Joint Council meeting held July 21, where participating municipalities agreed to establish a steering committee to move discussions around the project forward.

Each municipality was asked to appoint two councillors and its chief administrative officer to the committee.

For Elk Point, joining the committee means having a voice as the concept develops — not committing to building or funding a facility.

And that distinction mattered during council’s discussion.

One councillor volunteered for the committee, saying there were already plenty of thoughts on how the region could move forward with a project of this size.

“I do have a lot of good thoughts on how the region can proceed on that kind of project,” the councillor said.

But the conversation quickly moved to what could ultimately become the biggest question: how much it would cost each municipality.

“This committee is very important because we got to watch that we don’t get our feet too deep in something here that we can’t afford,” council heard. “Sure, it all sounds good on paper, but someone’s got to pay for this.”

The concern is particularly relevant for Elk Point because any regional cost-sharing model could see the Town contributing toward a major recreation facility located outside the community.

“Even our shares could be quite huge, and we’d be contributing to something that’s not in our community,” the councillor added. “So it’s a very important committee.”

Regional conversation is still in the early stages

At this point, the steering committee is about advancing the conversation and giving the municipalities a place to work through the details together.

There is no final facility design, construction price or municipal contribution approved by Elk Point council based on the information presented at the Aug. 24 meeting.

That means questions around what the facility could include, where it would be located, how much it would cost and how participating municipalities would divide that cost remain part of the work ahead.

Elk Point’s involvement gives the Town representation as those answers begin to take shape.

The project is also another example of the increasing amount of regional planning taking place between Elk Point, St. Paul and the County of St. Paul.

Council has been involved in regional discussions this year around recreation agreements, public transportation, seniors housing, economic development and other shared services.

For council, the potential benefits of regional recreation are part of the conversation — but so is ensuring Elk Point residents receive value from whatever eventually comes forward.

The steering committee will now be the place where some of those bigger questions start getting worked out.

And judging by council’s first discussion, Elk Point’s representatives will be going into those meetings with at least one thing firmly in mind: dream big, but keep an eye on the price tag.