But wait, what about that Quit Claim deed?
The first public indoor pool is scheduled to open by fall 2016. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Aug. 11 at Spellerberg Park after voters cleared the way for the project in April’s citywide election.
“Now we’re able to move forward,†said Alicia Luther, the recreation manager for the parks and recreation department.
Moving forward starts quickly. The site, which includes the city’s oldest outdoor pool, will be demolished starting this month. The design work will take place this fall and construction on the new facility begins next spring.
There is no mention if the quit claim deed has been resolved with the VA. I do know that the city hired outside legal counsel for contracts, etc. involving the indoor pool. Part of that counseling was about obtaining a resolution with the VA (essentially getting written contract permission from them to build an indoor pool on land that has a quit claim deed attached to it). I hope the city is not foolish enough to have a ground breaking next Monday without having this detail resolved, of course they have done dumber things, for instance taking ownership of the EC before the siding issue was resolved. I know the city council will be having an executive session tomorrow, hopefully the deed will be discussed.
The deed is simply “not a problem” says MMM. So then get it in writing. Kermit asked Don Kearney if he would be getting contract permission from the VA to build before building….he answered yes at the C.C meeting. So let’s see it! It is deeded land with contingencies on it for God’s sake!
Shhh! I’m a veteran looking forward to the day the feds seize the facility and reserve it for swim therapy to veterans only.
Your problem is there will be one less outdoor pool for summers to come. There’s no replacement. Pools are already overcrowded. Next summer, citizens will be opening fire hydrants to cool their kids. Meanwhile, Huether will be on his private beach at his private lake near Madison.
There is something absolutely wacky in the way this city is operated.
Joan, you can’t make this stuff (city operations) up. Even if the media reported it, nobody would believe it. It’s not material for a sitcom or movie because it’s so surreal. 100′ swords across the river, mirrored walls (EC), commercial investment (TIF’s), no-bid projects before a vote or location, etc.. It’s not capitalism and certainly not democracy. It’s billionaires tapping the credit line of what was once an all American city.
Still hanging your hopes on this one, eh?
As stated previously ad nausea, putting a roof over a pool and adding features like swim lanes, lazy river, slides etc. doesn’t change the use of the property, it’s still a park where people can get wet.
No change in use = no case for the VA to reclaim the property.
There is still the problem of parking in that area, when there is a swim meet. You will never convince me that parking won’t be a problem.
Does the public get to vote on this? I can’t believe how quickly this is sneaking through.
@ Lemming, since the election it’s technically illegal now to build an outdoor pool there…which you can credit the ballot petitioners for. So again, the only two options are an indoor pool or eliminate the pool altogether. They’ve been wanting/planning to do this for at least a decade, but the naysayers finally figured out that a vast majority of people actually want this project.