Shelley Johnson served lunch at the Blaine Senior Center. The building is “using every inch” of space, one volunteer said. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Blaine of Patty Sandin's memory — an unassuming, blue-collar town with plenty of sod farms — no longer exists.

In its place is a bustling north-metro suburb of 63,000 residents, more than eight times as many as when she moved there in 1961.

Blaine voters such as Sandin must soon decide whether these growing pains warrant a community center — an idea residents rejected in a similar referendum in 1998.

"People were scared of the taxes involved," Sandin recalled. "But our population has changed so much since then."

Some say the decision facing voters on the November ballot taps into broader concerns about the city's future and how to face an old referendum question in what many describe as a new Blaine.

Several dozen residents aired their concerns about the proposed levy, which will pay for both a community center and a separate senior center, earlier this week at a meeting in City Hall.

Since the failed referendum 17 years ago, the city has added more than 18,000 people. Newcomers include young families with an appetite for the amenities a community center provides, said Mayor Tom Ryan.

From 2000 to 2010, Blaine's under-40 age cohort grew by about 14 percent, census data show.

If approved by voters on Nov. 8, tax increases will pay for the $29 million maximum construction price tag, as well as future operating costs. For the owner of a Blaine home valued at $200,000, that means paying about $60 more a year in total property taxes — or about a 3 percent increase.

A citizens' task force recently announced its desire to partner with the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities to help shoulder construction and operating costs of a community center. The YMCA says it doesn't expect to make a decision before the vote.

Without a partner, taxpayers would be on the hook for about $250,000 a year in operating costs, said Richard Burke, a member of the task force.

The proposed site for the 118,000-square-foot community center, which would house indoor sports courts, a fitness center, a swimming pool and meeting spaces, is a city-owned lot near City Hall. Meanwhile, the 10,000-square-foot senior center would remain near its current location at Aquatore Park.

Out of room

City officials believe the referendum has strong support from seniors. Census data show that Blaine's over-65 age group doubled from 2000 to 2010, slightly increasing its share of the population to 8 percent from 5 percent.

For Sandin, who volunteers at the city's senior center, the time is right for a bigger space.

The existing facility, built in 1982, can hardly hold everyone who comes to special meals, Sandin said. This year's harvest dinner, for instance, drew 190 participants. The center has a 180-person capacity, and "that's using every inch," she said.

"There are more seniors now," she said. "They need a place where they can call home."

The task force found, however, that seniors preferred staying at the center's existing location.

Area sports groups say they're also out of room.

"We practice in churches, in schools — wherever we can get space," said Scott Muyres, president of the city's youth basketball program.

Muyres, who has lived in Blaine for 17 years, hopes history doesn't repeat itself with this referendum.

"We've got [more] younger families now," he said. "There's a better chance this time."

A survey found that 57 percent of Blaine residents supported a new center, and more than nine in 10 said they would use it. But some residents are skittish about the cost.

"It's the unknown of the operating expenses that worry us," said Terry Michnowski, who has lived in Blaine for 36 years and attended Monday's community meeting.

Hannah Covington • 612-673-4751