SIDNEY — The future of Sidney’s public pool is being considered by Sidney City Council.

Although it is two years away from scheduled improvements for Sidney Water Park (SWP), City Council began a discussion on the pool’s future, Monday. In January, the city received a preliminary cost estimate for improvements that is much higher than expected or budgeted within the city’s five year plan.

City Manager Mark Cundiff said he brought the matter to council’s attention to get an early start on a discussion about whether the city should make the “substantial investment,” considering the amount of money the city grants to assist in operating the pool is not decreasing.

The city’s current 2018-2022 five-year plan includes $425,000 for improvements to SWP, Cundiff said; $375,000 for the large swimming pool rehabilitation and $50,000 for construction of a splash pad. The January estimate came in at $384,606 to $594,419 for the large pool rehabilitation, and $140,000 for the splash pad, he said.

“The large pool is almost 30 years old; the recommended life of a municipal pool is 20 years,” Cundiff said. “Undetectable underground and pool floor leaks have increased operating costs. Additionally, the deterioration of the pool deck may become a safety hazard.”

The low-end estimate includes the following:

• Removal and replacement of the perimeter decking around the large pool;

• Replacement of eight pool ladders, five portable guard chairs, two dive stands and boards, underwater lights and conduits, and valves in the filter room;

• The addition of a drop slide (in lieu of three-meter board), an ADA handicap lift and a play feature to the lap pool;

• Rebuilding of existing DE filters — wet side;

• Installation of an auto fill system;

• An update to the Accu-Tab beed system and the automatic chemical controllers.

The high-end estimate for the enhanced rehabilitation, Cundiff said, would mean to demolish and remove the existing DE filters and to furnish and install the Defender Regenerative DE filter system.

He said the estimated cost for the splash pad increased because of the need for its own dedicated filtration, chemical feed and monitoring equipment, per Health Department standards. Cundiff explained that although the current filtration, chemical feed and monitoring equipment is large enough to support the new water feature, the goal is to prevent cross contamination between the two bodies of water in case of an accident.

In light of the new estimated costs, Cundiff offered the following options for council to consider:

• Continue to operate the pool in its current condition. He admitted that doing nothing would increase operating costs, and likely loss in attendance and revenue from the deteriorating pool deck.

• Make proposed improvements, which would result in lower operating costs. Also, Cundiff said, the addition of the drop slide and splash pad may increase attendance and revenue for the first couple of years after installation, but will likely will drop afterward.

• Replace the pool with a splash pad, and potentially add pads in multiple locations around Sidney. Costs would be reduced significantly, as no personnel would be needed at a splash pad, he said.

• Close the SWP. Cundiff said this option would eliminate all costs, but would leave many residents without access to a pool. Closing SWP could force some residents to swim at locations without lifeguards and could “increase the odds of injury or worse,” he said.

Council member Joe Ratermann asked the total cost of the drop slide and pad. Duane Gaier, parks and recreation director, said he would get back with that information, but they would also need to fix the leaks in the pool.

Ginger Adams, finance officer, said, in response to Mayor Mike Barhorst’s question, that Sidney budgeted a subsidy of $85,000 for 2018 for the pool. The average subsidy for the past five years of 2013 to 2017 was $84,000 per year, she said in an email to the Sidney Daily News.

“I think option “D” (to close the pool) is totally off the books. I don’t believe that we should close the pool what-so-ever,” Council member Darryl Thurber said adamantly.

More questions then ensued about how much the city would save with the new features, such as the new filtering system and the retention of water from previous leaks, and what would be spent over time for personnel if the pool remained open versus closed.

After further discussion, Barhorst said he feels a major issue is whether the city would be able move its swim lesson program to the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA for area children. If so, Barhorst said, then Sidney could have splash pads around the city, instead of the pool, as a more practical solution.

This suggestion prompted Thurber to directly ask Barhorst if he meant they should close the public pool, and instead, construct splash pads.

“I think we have to look at that, Darryl. I mean, over the next 20 years, we are going to spend more than $2 million there. And, I don’t know about you, but I can think of a lot of ways to spend $2 million (rather than) on a decreasing number of people using the pool,” Barhorst said to Thurber. “But, I think we have to find a way to get kids swim lessons, and if the Y(MCA) can’t handle that, then I think we have an obligation to do that.”

Gaier said they already offer swim lessons at the YMCA, but would need to check if the city could move the its program there.

It was noted that this was only the beginning of discussions about the SWP, and it will be continued at at future meeting.