Mount Vernon City Council approved with plans of moving forward with a bid of roughly $4.5 million for a number of projects for the city. Those projects include pool improvements, water meter project, Glenn Street extension and additional infrastructure improvements. The bond will have a call life of 19 years, which is typical for water meter read projects.
Water’s Edge Pool Consultants provided an estimate for a number of improvements that could extend the life of the current pool for another 10 years.
Those improvements include making repairs to the pool joints, improvements to the pool basin, replacing caulking around the pool repainting the basin, replacing areas of settlement around the pool deck, installation of new pool heaters, new ventilation for the chemical areas, pressure testing of the piping, and repairing the facia and repaint of the concessions stand building. That cost was estimated at roughly $1.28 million.
Optional enhancements include increasing sunshade options, new large slides, a possible climbing wall, Aqua Zip’N or Aqua Ninja or other amenities for the pool. Not all of these items may be installed (like the different variety of slides, the council may only have room to install one at the pool and choose what would work best). All of those optional enhancements come at a price tag of $573,000.
The bond has a $2 million contribution to the pool project overall. Glenn Street extension has a cost of $750,000. The water meter project has a cost of $1 million. There is an additional $750,000 reserved for other infrastructure improvement projects in the budget as well, which comprises the total $4.5 million price tag.
City administrator Chris Nosbisch said borrowing $2 million for the pool over the next 19 years will prolong the conversation about a new pool.
“Any new aquatic center or pool doesn’t happen in this city without a robust capital campaign,” Nosbisch said. “We can’t borrow to cover the cost of the pool without significant growth in the city, nor with the other larger projects we have on the horizon.”
Council member Craig Engel said this feels like kicking the conversation on the new pool more than 10 years down the road and for another council to tackle.
“We have never looked at a project as large as that new pool that was presented,” Engel said.
Nosbisch said the pool draws people from communities in the area including Solon, Ely, Springville, Lisbon and others. Over the next decade if any of those communities are to build their own pool, it would change the city’s own discussion, as that would impact potential revenue for the pool as well.
Nosbisch did agree action needs to be taken on the current pool to help extend the pool’s life. The slides will be removed ahead of opening this year due to safety concerns, and the diving boards will likely remain for this year.
Construction on any new improvements to the pool will start in the fall of 2024, potentially closing the pool a week ahead of schedule.
Council member Paul Tuerler said it was smart for the city to borrow based on the needs of what is known today and packaging the borrowing for multiple projects at once is also smart.
“That gives the city flexibility to lower the cost as much as possible,” Tuerler said. “If the pool wasn’t in the condition it was today, we would potentially be borrowing for other needs for the city. The pool improvements are a need. I don’t want to see the pool close down under my watch on council and want to take action to extend the life of the pool.”
Tuerler also said with multiple infrastructure improvement projects in the city’s future, there is a chance many of those may have higher costs.
“Whenever you dig a hole in the ground, you never know what you’re going to find,” Tuerler said.
Tuerler also said that the improvements to the current pool also is a call to arms to people who view the aquatic center as something they want to see a reality to start a capital campaign and start raising funding for the project for the future so when the city comes back to the issue in another 10 years, there is help to move that project forward.
Council member Scott Rose asked if this borrowing would allow any of the funds from other projects to be handed to other projects to be completed, say the amount for the pool improvements was under the $2 million budget, could that be used for more infrastructure improvements.
Nosbisch said that would be possible, or could be used to pay down the principal on the bonds as well.
With the approval as well, that will give the city a number of projects to complete in 2024 and 2025, while work starts on investigating the First Street Streetscape and Hwy. 1 projects.
“We’ll have a busy schedule for the next several years,” Nosbisch said.
Parks and recreation director Matt Siders said it was hard to hear the words that there wouldn’t be a new pool for a while, but the funds earmarked to make improvements to the pool were welcome.
“Funds haven’t always been available for some of the renovations to the pool, and we’re paying for that now,” Siders said. “I’d remind people that the process of building the Lester Buresh Family Community Wellness Center was a 20-year project for the city. Once we had a good plan for that facility and a capital campaign, everything fell into place. This is a chance for us to do the same with the pool.”