By Pauline Masson
Park Board members concluded their Feb 13 meeting with a vote to recommend to the Board of Aldermen to not open the City Swimming Pool for the 2023 season, which could mean that the pool might never re-open.
The recommendation to close the pool will go before aldermen at the Tuesday evening Feb. 21 board meeting. Aldermen are going to have to decide whether to approve the Park Board recommendation and close the pool or override the recommendation and spend the money to locate the leak and keep the pool open while a professional study of the pool condition and cost to improve can be made.
When word spread around town of the possible closing of the pool, former officials offered a quick response, saying aldermen should think hard before closing the pool and ending a service that has been vital to the community. They say even if they (aldermen) think closing the pool is temporary, the city would be better served if aldermen test the water of public opinion first.
Before coming to their decision to recommend no pool this year, Park Board members spent more than thirty minutes at their meeting discussing a leak, which has not been located, that is losing 1,000 gallons of water a day, the overall condition of the pool and the escalating cost to operate the pool.
The city budgeted $80,000 to operate the pool for the 2022 season. Midwet pools has notified the city that it’s maintenance fee will be $93,000 for 2023, due largely to rising labor costs and shortage of life guards.
The pool has never been able to make back the cost to operate it. Add to that the additional cost to fix the leak and the rise in management costs make operation of the pool unsustainable, park board members concluded.
Still former officials said the decision to close the pool, without a discussion with the public, is moving too fast.
Former officials voiced dismay that the decision to end this service to the community comes at a time when the city is eyeing the largest budget in city history, is about to open the multi-million dollar Red Cedar Museum, and trust in government is at an all time low.
“It’s a mistake to make an abrupt decision to close the pool,” Former Mayor and Alderman Herb Adams said. “This is not the first time city fathers had to face the cost of operating the swimming pool. But to suggest that it has to take in enough revenue to pay for the cost of operation is faulty thinking.
“The swimming pool was never meant to generate a profit. It was a service to the ctizens.
“The parks in general do not generat enough revenue to pay for their care and maintenance. The streets don’t take in revenue to pay for their upkeep. The police department does not generate revenue,” Adams said. “These are services that the city provides for the residents.
“If we really have reached the end of the life of the pool, which has not been proven, aldermen need to do three things before making a decision to close it.
“They need to hire an expert pool maintenance professionl to examine the pool, define the condition and come up with the actual cost to make repairs. Park board members and the park director are not swimming pool design and construction experts. They need to have swimmig pool professionals tell them the true cost to fix the pool and they need to take those costs to the public and give the citizens some choices. Do we need to repair the pool one more time, rebuild the existing pool or bite the bullet and build a large aquatic center like Ellisville?” he said.
“Whatever they (aldermen) decide after public input they need a comprehensive plan on how to accomplish the goal.”
Retired Ward Two Alderman Carol Johnson also voiced disbelief at the thought of closing the pool.
“I am so sad to even think about this,” she said. “I served under five mayors. The cost of operating the pool came up many times. We always found a way to keep the pool open with budgets much smaller than the one the city now enjoys.
“This swimming pool is an asset of our town,” Johnson said. “When people look to move to a new city they look at the parks and the amenities there. That pool makes us a desirable city. I believe there is a way to keep the pool open. If we need to improve the pool, let’s improve it while it is open.”
Johnson said it is her hope that aldermen will not act on the park board recommendation Tuesday Feb. 21, but will postpone a decision and give themselves time to obtain a real evaluation of the problems with the pool, the cost to repair them for another season and time to work with the public to determine the scope, size, timing and funding for a new pool.
“Any decision on the future of the pool should be based on public input,” she said.
“The public was included over and over as plans for the Red Cedar moved forward,” she said. “They need to find a way to include the public in determining the future of the pool.”
IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED
At the same time the Park Board is calling for no swimming pool during the 2023 season – and maybe never – City Administrator Steve Roth told administrative committee members at the meeting earlier in the day, Feb.13, that he is working on plans for the city to build a new pool, that would be paid for with a bond issue, which would require voter approval and would be placed on the ballot of a future election..
Roth said, “We’re not looking at building anything as large as what Washington is doing. We’d probably go one and one-half times the size of existing pool,” he said. “We’re working on it.”
Minutes of the Jan. 30 administration committee meeting reported that a $6 million project for a new pool that had been viewed by the park board and aldermen, had also been discussed with a swimming pool planner and a firm that helps cities finance big projects.
The minutes also noted that Mayor Heather Filley thought having some kind of action for the Board of Aldermen before June could be a target.
I’m concerned that the city is going backwards as it has been doing for a number of years. We lost out on a Walmart years ago and the lot along Osage continues to sit vacant and overgrown with weeds. Talk of a big box store building on this site never goes forward. To eliminate the swimming pool will just add to the demise. We talk about Pacific having a great location along I-44 but Eureka keeps edging us out. I see where a large new building is now going up in Eureka next to the state park. Wonder how much more revenue this will bring to their city? I’ve only been in Pacific for about 20 years but in that 20-year time period almost no growth has occurred along Osage. Vacant lots, vacant buildings.
Alderman need to look at how real-estate agents “puff the goods” when they write up a listing for a house for sale. Two items are always front and center; what schools are available and what city amenities exist such as parks, play grounds and POOLS. We have all those great things to offer new residents, let’s not let the BOA screw us over one more time. Cost , you say, well they certainly found an extra large chunk of change to pay for a much over priced Dead Cedar project. Call your, and all the alderman and let them know your feelings on the pool no matter what they are. Go to the meeting Tuesday night, 2021-23, go through their high security metal detector, and fill out a speaker card. Be prepared , bring your notes, you have five minutes. Don’t say that someone else will do it, we need volume and numbers for them to maybe pay attention, even if they are saying the same thing.. Spend some of that tourism money that they hoard on a proper study for a revamped and expanded pool study by experts. A good pool brings in outsiders (tourism) so spend the cash.
Since no one really knows what is wrong with the pool, have a company come look at it. And fix it.
The pool needs to be open. Unfortunately with Pacific if it closes, it could be permanently.
The city hasn’t said they can’t afford to fix it, the Park Board did. And it was the Park Board that voted to recommend closing it.
The City will discuss it Tuesday at 7:00.
Come out to the meeting and be heard.
SO SAD. GET A PROFESSIONAL TO LOOK AT IT AND TRY TO KEEP THE POOL OPEN IF POSSIBLE.
Seems like a waste of money for the museum and I’ve heard that from alot of people in the community but you’re gonna close down the pool that serves the community that the people enjoy doesn’t make no sense to me!!!
A Response to the Potential for Swimming Pool Loss (and a Much Larger Concern for Building Community).
I grew up in St. Louis area until my mid-twenties. I returned and chose to live in Pacific. It seemed reasonably priced. I saw and continue to see the city as presenting enormous opportunities that are untapped by its own residents. I do not advocate for the kind of uncontrolled growth and expansion that can destroy a city. I do not see Big Box stores as an answer to economic needs. In conversations on social media, this is what some people have interpreted as my message. It is not.
But in addition to smaller businesses, which could be encouraged, we need basic, public services. I consider a pool one such fundamental service. The notion that it should pay for itself is absurd. This is what governments are supposed to do. If a pool were an automatically profitable enterprise, entrepreneurs would have kicked in long ago. Pools and other amenities provide intangible value, community. And frankly, there is little recreation within the city.
I do advocate a municipality that can sustain itself, invests in itself and its children, its future. The city has a role in achieving this goal.
We lack vision.
I don’t see a vision for creating retail establishments that would allow us to buy locally. Why should we drive to other cities for purchasing common goods and services. What are we buying from non-Pacific establishments whose sales tax goes into their town’s treasury. Our Downtown? Many empty buildings suggest possibilities. What would people like to see there? It is desolate. Many storefronts are unoccupied or underused. What kind of city do we want?
I do not see the kind of vision that would propel a socially cohesive community that would enrich our lives. What is our purpose other than surviving? Where does one gather here that is not a bar or a church? Is it only about work, raising a family, watching screens?
I don’t see enough opportunities for recreation, especially for younger people. The closing of the pool without a substantive plan for reopening or repairing is a mistake and irresponsible. I am skeptical that there will be another pool to replace the existing one unless solid planning and commitment is enacted by… By whom? Citizens? City council? Other than athletics at city parks, it is the only venue that I can discern where young people and families can come together in a public.
One indicator of a thriving community is face-to-face encounters is pedestrians. Seldom in my daily walks do I encounter people. We have a downtown that is underused. There are, of course, a few businesses that bring people together. But that simple “Hello,” that acknowledgment of one’s personhood is essential to our humanity. A walkable downtown requires something to walk to.
Pacific could be so much more. So much more. In short, we need to address the poverty of our imagination of what Pacific could be. We can’t do anything or everything, but we can try to create a place that is creative and encourages our individual growth.
While the permanent closing of a pool would be a tragedy, there is a larger concern. What kind of community do we want? This is a question that can be daunting, especially in finding some kind of consensus. It will require an electorate that can see the big picture and a fearless imagination. It will require the cities elected officials to earnestly seek these answers, especially from citizens who are not inclined to public discourse. It would take time, honesty, and courage. And imagination.
Wow!