The agreement that spells out who runs, cleans and repairs the Steven and Judy Deffibaugh Community Center was approved by the Princeton City Council in November 2025 and by the Princeton Community Development Corporation board in January, but neither side ever signed it, according to documents posted for the council's Oct. 26 meeting.
A staff memo from Alternate City Manager David Hall says "several staffing transitions" kept the agreement from being executed. The council is being asked to approve a first amendment whose only change is the effective date.
What the amendment does
As written, the restated agreement could not take effect until four things had happened: approval by the council, a signature from the city, approval by the corporation's board and a signature from the corporation. The amendment drops the two signature conditions, so the agreement would take effect on the later of the two approval votes.
The documents date those votes to Nov. 12, 2025, for the council and Jan. 21, 2026, for the corporation's board.
The memo says no other terms are being revised. The city attorney, Courtney Goodman-Morris of Nichols Jackson, approved the amendment as to form and legality, according to the memo. It sits on the consent agenda, which the council typically passes in a single vote unless a member pulls an item for discussion.
Who is responsible for what
The corporation, a Type B economic development entity, owns the center at 416 N. 4th St. Under the restated agreement, the city:
- schedules bookings and handles reservations, cancellations and refunds, passing rental fees to the corporation
- keeps the building clean and does minor upkeep, such as checking heating, plumbing and electrical systems, changing filters and bulbs and restocking supplies, at its own cost during normal business hours
- can use the center free of charge for city-sponsored events that do not conflict with existing bookings
