At the last regular Grant City Council Meeting, the City Council was going to close the pool for good, citing rapid deterioration of the facility. But at a special meeting Wednesday involving City Council Members and Economic Developer Charity Austin, Craig and Gina McNeese did a presentation showing how similar pools have been renovated for $58,000 or less. And they said that the city could save even more if they were to eliminate zero depth entries. They said that with advancements in technology, pools similar to the state of the city pool could have their lives extended by around 25 years. For instance, a private pool in Plattsburg cost only $58,000 to renovate, and it would be less without zero depth entry.
And what’s more, Gina McNeese said that she had talked to a ton of people who had expressed willingness to donate to a pool renovation; "and that’s just me," she said. Time would not be a problem if there was enough volunteer labor; for instance, Plattsburg got their project done in 5 ½ to 6 weeks. And Brenda Parman, in attendance at the meeting, said that the shock value of the pool closing for the year would help bring in a lot of donations. By way of contrast, Gina McNeese said that it would cost the city $40,000 to get rid of the pool; "it’s just as expensive to remove the pool as it would be to renovate it," she said.
The key, according to Craig McNeese, was epoxy finish, which would keep the pool from falling apart the way that the Grant City pool did. Gina McNeese said that another good idea would be to keep water in the pool over the winter break. Another way to keep the pool from deteriorating has to do with outside pressure. Specifically, underground water from the outside of the pool creates pressure on the walls of the pool so that they would crack; creating buffer zones that the water could not get through would help solve that problem.
"We can do anything here if we set our mind to it," said Craig McNeese, citing the Carnegie trip and the Relay for Life event. He said that a lot was a matter of donated labor and basic masonry. McNeese said that the cleanliness of the renovated facility would be important, as would increased concession revenues. Gina McNeese added that most pools were not profitable anyway and that they had nothing to lose by offering a lot of specials to customers.
There were a number of suggestions raised about getting people on board with a swimming pool renovation and making it easier. For instance, if the city were to transfer the pool to a committee which would fix the pool and lease it back to the city, they might be able to work around the prevailing wage laws that drive up the cost of many such projects. Craig McNeese said that it would be best if repairs were completed before winter came on; while the possibility was remote, councilwoman Linda Phipps said that even if they could get the pool open for a month, it would be worth it. If the city were to turn the pool over to a private entity, for instance, they could still donate money to the project.
Another area of discussion was the shallow part of the pool. Participants said that they did not see a need for a zero access pool; Gina McNeese said that if they were to add that, they would reduce the shallow play area; she said that the large shallow area was one of the strengths of the pool. Craig McNeese suggested having steps into the pool as an option which would reduce space needed while allowing more disabled access.
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