Repairing current facility now the focus
By Bert Lehman
With the cost of a new outdoor swimming pool facility seemingly out of reach for the city of Clintonville, the city has started to focus on exploring what it would take to refurbish the existing swimming pool facility.
According to the minutes from the Aug. 28 Clintonville Parks and Recreation Committee meeting, Mayor Richard Beggs had directed Parks and Recreation Director Justin Mc Auly to compile estimates to refurbish the pool using the existing footprint. Mc Auly provided those estimates at the Aug. 28 meeting.
Committee members were informed that the total estimate to get the current swimming pool facility back up and running would be around $749,000.
This figure included:
- $381,050 for repairs to the wading pool.
- $2,000 for repairs to fencing.
- $116,000 for repairs to the kiddie pool.
- $58,150 for repairs to the pump house.
- $171,200 for repairs to the bath house.
- $7,000 for repairs to the outside restrooms.
- $13,680 in miscellaneous costs.
The city still has the $130,000 it received in insurance money after the fire at the swimming pool facility. That leaves roughly $619,000 the city would have to cover to get the swimming pool facility operational again.
Possible sources of funding would be donations and grants.
Also presented to committee members at the Aug. 28 meeting was a list of assumptions regarding saving the outdoor swimming pool.
These assumptions included:
- A majority of the residents want the outdoor swimming pool reopened.
- The least expensive option is to reuse the existing pool.
- The existing pool (tank) itself can be repaired and reused.
- The existing bath house structure can be repaired and reused.
- The plan would not include any frills or a splash pad.
- The city will be able to find a significant grant to assist in funding.
- Some people and corporations will be willing to make donations.
- Taxes would have to pay for most of the project.
- The plan will take two to three years to achieve.
- If activated, annual pool operating costs would be about $55,000.
- While it fluctuates significantly, annual income might average about $13,154.
Also according to the minutes from the Aug. 28 meeting, Parks and Recreation Committee Chairman Steve Kettenhoven “expressed concerns about placing another band-aid on the problem and being in the same situation in five years.”
The minutes indicated that Mc Auly was directed to obtain an estimate from a professional company on what it would cast to repair the pool and the pump house.
When the committee met again on Sept. 25, McAuly said he contacted Water Technologies Incorporated on two separate occasions to obtain a quote as to how much it would cost to repair the pump house and the equipment inside, as well as a quote as to how much it would cost to refurbish the pool basin.
He said he had not received a response from WTI.
During the summer, WTI made a presentation to the Clintonville City Council about what options were available regarding a new swimming pool facility and cost estimates for those options.
After some discussion at the Sept. 25 meeting, committee member Carol Metzger said the city always seems to have money to spend on other things, but not the municipal swimming pool.
“Sometimes it just seems to me that the money should have been put aside for, what is it, three years now,” Metzger said. “Not a thing has been put aside for that pool and we just keep spending money elsewhere. I guess I’m really frustrated.”
She added, “I think we need to move on this swimming pool and stop spending money every other place.”
Committee member Jim Supanich asked Metzger what the city should stop spending on.
Supanich said there are possibilities for the city to obtain more grants to help pay for different things the city needs.
“That might be the best way to go,” Supanich said. “There needs to be more discussion on that.”
He added that the 2019 city budget will probably be frozen for all city departments.
The committee approved a motion requesting the city’s finance committee try to find some funds in the budget for the outdoor municipal swimming pool.