Skip to content

Pool talks continue

The Vandalia Park District Board of Trustees will meet in special session next Tuesday to continue discussions on the district’s swimming pool.
That meeting will be held at 4 p.m. in the conference room at the Okaw Area Vocational Center.
The board agreed to set the special meeting during its regular meeting last Thursday, as it continued to talk about its options with the pool.
Those options include a comprehensive renovation of the existing structure or building a new pool.
The board voted in February to proceed with a full-scale rehabilitation of the existing structure, estimated to cost $1.2 million.
Trustees agreed to move in that direction with hopes of acquiring both local and state grant funds to help pay for the work on the pool.
They then, however, agreed to consider looking at building a new pool after hearing a number of comments from local residents.
After a lengthy discussion, which included comments from several individuals in the community, the board appeared to lean toward continuing on with the rehabilitation project.
It hopes to have a better handle on the condition of the current structure after X-rays are taken this week. Those X-rays are mainly designed to show the condition of plumbing and electrical wiring, though trustees are hoping that they also give a feel for the structure’s condition.
Trustee Brian Stout, who has headed up a pool committee, is hopeful that the current structure can be upgraded without impacting taxpayers.
“If we do this right, it won’t cost the taxpayers a penny (in addition to what they are now paying).
“We have been working on this for six to eight months, and now people come in and want this and this and this and this.
“We’re on a time limit – we’ve got to do something now. I think we just need to proceed on as planned,” he said.
Stout that he would work on gathering additional information prior to next Tuesday’s special meeting.
 

Leave a Comment