2/8/12 Park board considers pool proposal

  • By Nick Sabo
  • February 8, 2012
  • 325
                        
SUMMARY: Grass-roots effort looks at feasibility study to build pool run by park district The Holmes County Park District pledged its support for a study that may lead to a district-operated swimming pool. In a meeting with the park board Tuesday Feb. 7, Suzan Earney and Ruth Waltman received the board’s backing for a feasibility study that will examine whether a pool run by the park district is a possibility. Earney and Waltman said they came up with the idea after the Crissey Memorial Pool, in operation since the 1930s, closed last year. The pool is run by the Village of Millersburg and, due to budget concerns, will not open again this year. Earney said she does not see the park district taking over the Millersburg pool, but envisions a new pool run by the park district. Earney said the pool’s closing has left a lot of needs unfilled. “Ruth and I think, what a shame it is that our community no longer has a swimming pool,” Earney said. “Not only for the recreation and something for the kids to do, but it is also where everyone in Holmes County learned to swim, it is where the Red Cross has its safety lessons.” Waltman suggested the pool be located just off the Holmes County Trail as ‘a trail spur’ where it can be easily accessed by everyone. Both Earney and Waltman have prior experience with water safety, having previously worked as swimming instructors. The feasibility study would be funded through the 2012 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that is received by the Holmes County County Commissioners and administered by the planning commission. Planning commission director Arnold Oliver said up to $10,000 is available for such a study. The study must be approved by commissioners if it is to be funded with CDBG dollars. If approved, the study would be contracted out to a specialist in recreational design work, Oliver said. The scope of the study would determine everything from location, securing construction funds and how the pool is to be funded once it is built. Boardmember Mike McDowell noted that the Crissey Memorial Pool operates at a loss every year, “and (the park district) has less resources than the village”. Board president Dan Mathie further said he sees operating funds as the biggest obstacle. If the pool can be built, he suggested trying an sales tax out on voters. “That’s the problem with most grants. There’s plenty of money to build things, but none to run them once they are built,” Mathie said. “What I see, success may be tied to a sales tax paid largely by tourists.” In other business, the board approved the following program fees: Basic sports (softball, soccer, track, volleyball, basketball, football) $20; golf clinic, $45; golf league, $70; Walking on to Wellness, $3; ball handling, $20. The fees are unchanged from 2011.


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