Mexico Parks and Recreation Director Chad Shoemaker displays a draft plan of Fairground Pool on Thursday at Hart Career Center. He was a guest of Mayor Ayanna Shivers, who was hosting her monthly Munch with the Mayor event.

The city is inching closer to final decisions on how the refurbishment and construction of Fairground Pool will take shape.

A public meeting is planned 6 p.m. Tuesday in the basement community room of the Audrain County Courthouse. Mayor Ayanna Shivers and Parks and Recreation Director Chad Shoemaker presented a draft plan for the pool Thursday at Hart Career Center as part of Shivers' monthly Munch with the Mayor events.

Students in the Jobs for America's Graduates program had contacted Shivers asking to host one of her events. Students, along with district staff and community members, were able to engage with Shivers and Shoemaker about the decision-making process for the pool.

"I'm especially excited today because when we did our first [Munch with the Mayor] at Pizza Hut, I'd invited all the schools from the district to send representation. JAG came, Eugene Field, Hawthorne, McMillan, high schoolers. I'm excited we're doing the same sort of thing today," she said. "I don't like to say [the students are] future leaders, because they're leaders now and are developing as leaders."

The reconstruction of Fairground Pool is budgeted to cost $3.5 million. This is dependent on an April ballot question regarding Mexico’s use tax for online purchases. The tax revenue the city would receive already is collected by the state, but cannot be collected by the city without Mexico voters approving a use tax. The use tax is the same as the city's sales tax. It is not collected in addition to sales tax, but is collected on non-local purchases, like with online shopping. The city would receive an estimated additional $152,000 annually if approved.

If voters do not approve the use tax, the budget for pool repairs will decrease to about $1.2 million, which is the amount of cash the city already has saved for pool repairs and improvements. The pool was first built in 1984. There were some original construction defects, which have plagued the pool since its opening, Shoemaker said.

"We're in the design phase of a design-build project," he said. "I hate to break this to you, but $3.5 million is not very much money for a pool these days. It gives you something relatively basic."

The city, through its contractor Westport Pools of Maryland Heights, had to establish reasonable expectations for what can be constructed for $3.5 million. The city also is considering further cost-savings methods. The pool will be constructed at its current site, which will allow the city to use the same water lines and power sources.

"We've got a transformer. That alone is probably a $15,000-$25,000 cost-savings that we can spend on doing things you can actually enjoy instead of developing [the pool] somewhere else," he said.

Draft plans for the pool include increased shaded areas, more play features like a splash pad, covered pavilions available to rent for parties, family changing rooms, a zero-degree pool entry that deepens to three to four feet and 25 meter swim lanes for competitions, among other features. The splash pad can be opened earlier in the season and remain open past labor day since it can be closed off from the main pool.

The biggest reason for the city to replace the pool is its age. It also has structural issues allowing water to leak into the ground beneath the pool.

"We will do everything we can to recover dollars out of what we have. We have stainless steel gutters on the existing pool. We will pull that out and recycle that stainless steel. That's the kind of deal that we'll work with the contractor on," Shoemaker said.

The city wants to include features for multigenerational use. The draft plan currently includes a slide that ends with a 6- to 8-foot drop into the water. It also includes a diving board, height to be determined.

Shoemaker was seeking a consensus if students wanted a low or high dive. He also sought input on pool use. The plan includes fencing that can close off the swim lane section for competitions, while keeping the rest of the pool open. The plan for the party pavilions did cause some questions that focused on pool capacity. Students wanted to know at what point would the pool be rented out as a private party based on guest numbers, compared to the smaller pavilions, which keeps the pool open to the public.

Then there was the question of time. The plan is to shut down pool operations this year after the Independence Day weekend to allow for summer school use. Construction would begin soon after, and the pool would open for a full season in 2021. There isn't a guarantee of having favorable weather if construction were delayed until August. The city is looking at other aquatic entertainment for residents due to the shortened season, Shivers said.

All of this will lead into the planning process for staffing and pool entry costs. The pool is currently operating at a loss, Shoemaker said. Entry fees may change.

"I'm going to have to price it to recover as much as the operational costs as possible," he said. "We certainly want this to be cost-available to people who don't have as easy a time paying the cost. We don't want to be Chillicothe, where I think their water park costs $12 to get in."

So the city will have to look at cost-cutting measures on the operational side of the pool, which likely will include reducing the number of lifeguards from about 20 to around 10. This is due to planned minimum wage increases as well as increased maintenance needs.

"Our water quality is good. It's as good as it can be with the filter that we have,” Shoemaker said. “For the size pump we have and as much water as we're moving, we know we only turn the water over so many times a day.”

When the pool was first installed, it was recommended water be refreshed twice daily. The new aquatic code requires water refreshment 2.5 times per hour minimum.

"So, we really want to be turning all the water over in the system three to four times an hour," Shoemaker said, adding the new pool would have an upgraded filtration system capable of handling this need.

The next Munch with the Mayor is Feb. 17. Details still are being arranged.

cdunlap@gatehousemedia.com

Default No false no cdunlap