The pool is going to open in October, but I found the hours of operation a bit strange?
• Monday through Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Sunday, 12 noon to 5 p.m.
While the weekdays seem like good hours, why the shortened hours on the weekends? You would think you would want extended hours on the weekend when working families and school kids could use the place?
Some would argue this is cost savings measure, but you have to heat and cool the building and water 24/7 anyway, and I would also assume the lights would be on to, so really it is just labor they are saving on.
Is the facility having trouble finding employees? Or, are the swim teams going to get special hours to use the facility? A question worth asking.
These are NOT the hours that were sold to the public prior to the vote.
Kind of reminds me of the $19.4m price tag that suddenly became $24m AFTER the vote.
Now, waiting to see how much of that olympic size pool will be available to the public and what those hours will look like!
Exactly what I was thinking. That is not a 10 lane 100 meter pool that will go unused on Sunday mornings.
The hours seem practical if it’s public access. There will be closures for swim teams. How much time and which area will be reserved for veterans therapy? Because of the poor design, the city should provide handicap transport from in front of the VA hospital around the block and in from Western Ave..
The operational expenses were estimated at $750,000 during the public presentations PRIOR to the vote.
Park and Rec upped that figure to over a million AFTER the vote.
It will be interesting to see what the actual figure is at the end of the first year of operation.
It’s looking like a very expensive proposition for taxpayers, considering only a small percentage of the public are actually swimmers and of course, we can’t forget those couple of hundred swim team kids and their families.
BTW, Mike mentioned in his press conference that those who could financially support naming rights to the facility have NOT come forward as predicted!!
I would like to know WHAT EXACTLY HAVE THE SWIM TEAMS CONTRIBUTED FINANCIALLY TO THIS FACILITY….heard plenty of promises from them before the vote….haven’t heard a word since!! Maybe Margaret Sumption could clarify this for us……!!
I guess the Parks Director, Captain Corn Kernel said yesterday they wanted to see how much the facility is being used before expanding hours? Huh? We were told this has been a need since the 1950’s, and now we are not sure if anyone is going to use it? The city must really be running low on cash flow these days. Next thing you know, they will stop plowing the streets.
A million a year! Will this become another Washington Bazillion? The city should sell off some real estate before getting involved with something else like an Admin Building. To much foolishness. Not enough practicality. This can’t be sold. It’s on VA property. Donate it to the VA before it’s even open?
Sounds like move Darin Smith after hardly a month at the Bazillion to the city water feature. This rodeo clown gets promoted with a pay raise every time policy fails and ‘Credit Card Huether’ needs to hide it.
Here is the snofox practice schedule before the midco aquatics center
https://www.teamunify.com/czsdsfs/__doc__/SFST%20Schedule%20(before%20MAC).pdf
Here is the snofox swim team practice schedule after midco opens.
https://www.teamunify.com/czsdsfs/__doc__/SFST%20Schedule%20(after%20%20MAC).pdf
This aquatics center could have been built for at least 15 million less, without the snofox olympic size, ten lane pool and seating for 500. Again…who was this built for?
Sorry, those last two links did not work, at least on my phone. Hopefully, go here, and look under Calendar. for before MAC and after MAC opens.
https://www.teamunify.com/Home.jsp?_tabid_=0&team=czsdsfs
My family doesn’t play golf, but I don’t bitch about the cost of city run courses. I don’t use the bike trails either. My kids didn’t enjoy soccer or soft ball so we only visited those city run facilities for a year or so. Great Bear – my kids went a few times, and the skating rinks also. I will never attend an event at the Harmodon Park complex, but I don’t bitch about the cost of that either. Don’t use the skate park. Don’t use the river greenway. Don’t play in a volleyball league sponsored by the Parks Department. I don’t use the Outdoor Campus.
I also don’t begrudge anyone who does use city run facilities and complain about my cost as a taxpayer.
If they pay thirty bucks an hour I will be applying.
I agree with Reliable Voter. Just because it is not your cup of tea, doesn’t mean many will benefit from the program. I as well will not be swimming there, nor use the golf courses, bike trail, sculpture walk, but my family uses the baseball diamonds, community centers, and Great Bear! I have no problem with city run programs and this is a good program for the community. It offers something to someone and will attract people to Sioux Falls.
Comments 11 & 13 seem relevant. Especially since sales tax pays for the luxuries we don’t use. Sales tax is mostly collected from a 50 mile radius not just in town. Give out of city consumers another option and they’ll take it. They (especially) hate the luxuries they can’t enjoy. I go out of my way to not purchase inside city limits and use the Internet or shop in Minnesota. Eventually, Worthington MN will have a Mall of America and Sam’s Club. There’s a highway between Sioux City and Minneapolis built to interstate standards. When the last 20% is finished, it’ll be given an Interstate Highway number. Sioux Falls is an interstate crossroads but sales will dissipate. Then, how do you make bond payments based on overestimated sales tax projections. I’ll stay in SD because there’s no income tax but find a new home outside Sioux Falls nearer Worthington. I’ll miss here but can’t stay when sales tax rises to 12%.
The reduced public hours are to make sure the swim teams get all the access wanted not needed and of course the life guards will be on taxpayer dime and if that goes to hell the public hours will be reduced and reduced again. It’s a light pollution terrible burden on the neighborhood at night. Hope they used led lighting with dimmers I’ll never use it
it will be as busy as the heether family tennis center.
Lotta speculation and very few facts.
The usual whining, conspiracy theorizing and bullshit class warfare,from Know-Nothings
I’m sure you will all strive to Make America Great Again in your own miserable image.
Learn about the facility and what is available. There are multipld pools. Find out what rent the swim team is paying. (There is only one now, moron) Educate yourself before mouthing off.
We built the Huether’s indoor tennis and pool. Let’s reward them with a 5 star hotel and restaurant. Oh, that’s already happening at the golf course. Maybe Lear jet day trips to the Super Bowl and Packers games. They have that too. What can we get them for Christmas? How about an island nation in the Caribbean?
it appears the swim team has the run of the place from 5 until close daily. would their contract with the city be available under open record laws?
The swim team will not be taking up all the lanes during practice. Multiple swimmers grouped by ability swim together in a lane leaving from the starting wall at timed intervals, and you can probably put 10 swimmers to a lane in a 50 meter.
Number 17 is such a smart Redon tel us all about the whole fckn mess and how much rent are the rich snobs paying s clown. Will they pay for the life guards and insurance if they waive them?
Some facts for toclayco:
Cost of annual operating expenses estimated at $750,000 during public presentations prior to the vote.
Operating costs now estimated by Director of Park and Rec to be over 1m annually. (response given numerous times to the City Council at public meetings)
Capital cost of the indoor aquatic center (provided to the public during formal presentations prior to the vote): 19.4m actual cost closer to 23-24m
Financial contribution (promised by the swim team people prior to the vote) to the facility: To Date $0
Hours of operation presented to the public prior to the vote: open TO THE PUBLIC until 10 pm 6 nights a week.
Director of Park and Rec prior to the vote: “The only time (at least a portion of) the olympic size pool will NOT be available for public use is during swim meets which only occur a couple of times a year.”
The City is booming. This is what a full employment economy looks like. The City too will have to compete for available workers. Downtown booming. New indoor PUBLIC pool. New Walmart. New growth.
Progress.
Titleast, yeah, we are booming, though our unemployment rate is low, these employed people must be putting their money in their mattresses, because our tax growth is half what it was last year, even though we have 3000 more people then we did last year. Boom! Progress.
considering how often the argus or tv stations do a story on a new business downtown, you’d think there would be hundreds of business downtown. i think downtown churns more than booms.