Uncertainty regarding donations for Clintonville pool

By Bert Lehman

When the Ad Hoc Pool Committee met Thursday, March 3, the agenda included an item regarding the purpose and function of the committee.

During the meeting, Pool Committee Chairwoman Stephanie Hintz said the committee wasn’t created to raise funds.

“It was to research, prepare plans, and bring back a report to the Park and Rec and the common council, on suggestions for the pool,” Hintz said.

Earlier in the meeting the committee was given a report about the money raised so far to save the outdoor municipal swimming pool in Clintonville. Hintz told the committee that prior to the formation of the pool committee, she had started a citizens fundraising drive to save the pool.

“There’s been some discrepancies and confusion between what’s what and I would say that on the citizen level they’re completely unrelated. The “Save the Clintonville Pool” is not a government backed entity of any sort,” Hintz said.

She said that she started a Go Fund Me page on the Internet. A total of $255 has been raised on that page. She said with other donations, the total is around $1,000.

“The issue with this money is there’s no place to go with it,” Hintz said.

Hintz also said people have told her they are willing to donate, but they want to make sure the donation is going to the pool.

Committee member Ryan Rockey said a lot of people in the community originally got excited about saving the municipal swimming pool because it was a hot topic.

“We wound up kind of putting the cart before the horse at that time, not thinking or realizing what was to come,” Rockey said. “And I think things have become very muddled and dirty now, and that line has become blurred between a citizen doing a fundraising effort and what the city is willing to accept.”

She added that she thought it would be best to remove the “Save the Pool” jars in local businesses, as well as the Go Fund Me account. She recommended taking the money collected so far to city hall and asking what process needs to be followed in order for the city to accept the money.

“From that point, until we can get something set up here, or approved by council, I’m not sure if we should be asking people for money, until we can specify what it is going for because nobody really knows right now,” Rockey said.

It was stated at the meeting that the jars have been in the community for about a year and nobody has collected them.

During the discussion of the purpose of the pool committee, committee member Jim Krause said since the fundraising began, the fire that occurred at the pool has complicated matters. He indicated that there is uncertainty in the community as to what the raised money will be used for.

Hintz said the money is to be used to create plans for renovating the current pool or building a new pool.

“I think right now a lot of people are disillusioned as to what this money would go for,” Krause said.

“Like I said, I think it’s become such a mess in the last year and a half that nobody really knows what’s going on,” Rockey added.