Argus Leader:Â Indoor Pool Issue Is Top Budget Topic
City Councilor Kermit Staggers plans to propose an amendment to next year’s city budget that would ensure an indoor pool is not built at Spellerberg Park.
It was obvious at the work session, Kermit is not going to get this amendment approved. I doubt he will even receive a second, so it can be discussed by the entire Council.
But Parks and Rec Director, Don Kearney, said the Council is not being asked to approve construction of an indoor aquatic center. Rather, officials are hoping to take the next step by using funds to create preliminary design and schematic drawings to share with the public.
This is misleading. Why would Parks and Rec be asking for $160,000 for design of an INDOOR pool, if they did not intend to ask for approval of construction in 2014?
Councilor Greg Jamison is working on an amendment to use the remaining aquatic facilities development funds to create a long-term master plan for indoor and outdoor pools. If approved, the plan would go through the land use committee.
This is a good idea and should have been done long ago. This is the amendment, I believe will be approved by the Council.
Councilors also questioned whether the preliminary design study could work for an alternate site. Kearney said it would determine how an indoor pool would fit on the Spellerberg site and also provide information about operating costs and other amenities.
Sean Ervin, principal with TSP Architecture, said about two-thirds or three-fourths of the preliminary design could be applicable to another site; the rest would be Spellerberg-specific.
Why would the City be willing to spend $40,000-53,000 of the $160,000 specifically to see how an indoor pool would fit on the Spellerberg site if they were NOT still seriously considering that location?
“There have been a lot of questions, perception that we’re building an indoor aquatic center at Spellerberg, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth,†Councilor Dean Karksy said.
This statement clearly demonstrates Councilor Karsky’s lack of understanding of the indoor pool issue. AND, how he continually panders to both sides on most city issues. He obviously did not hear Don say at the work session that two public input meetings have been held, and participants gave a 70% approval rating of the Spellerberg site for an indoor pool!
Kearney said preliminary design work for an indoor aquatic center is key to moving forward because people need to see what the facility would look like and how it would fit on the site.
Another one of Don’s misleading statements. The newly formed, SF Aquatics Association, and representatives from the swim teams met with TSP, the architect, several months ago to view preliminary plans for the indoor pool at Spellerberg.
Don’s entire demeanor at the Council’s work session demonstrated to me, “a desperate attempt to sidetrack any organized effort to stop the indoor pool at Spellerberg.”
They DO NOT want a repeat of the Drake Springs petition drive and public vote.