Since Wyoming�s City Council won�t hold a community forum to discuss the pending Aquatic Center proposal, I will attempt to conduct a one-person on-paper forum here to express my own concerns and questions. Let�s begin by reviewing the facts over the past ten months or so.
Early last spring (2005), the 11-member Wyoming Recreation Center decided that it would be best to build the new pool at the Recreation Center in Woodlawn. City Council approved this decision at its May meeting. Then a 12-member �pool task force� was created in June of 2005. Their mission was: �To plan a replacement municipal aquatic facility that will meet the needs of the total community including families with small children, teenagers, senior citizens, and the swim team.� The two other �constraints� imposed on the task force were to design the facility AT the Recreation Center in Woodlawn, and to accomplish this within the allowable city budget.
Also at the May 16th City Council meeting, there was much discussion about locating the new pool in Woodlawn. Some of the concerns raised (by Council members themselves) were:
1. Potential security and safety issues at that location.
2. The fact that Woodlawn (not Wyoming) zoning laws would apply.
3. The fact that Cincinnati water would have to be used (and thus paid for by Wyoming) or a pipe built from Wyoming to the Woodlawn facility (assuming it would be approved by the powers that be).
4. Wyoming would have to build a brand new bathhouse at the facility (additional expense).
5. A lacrosse and soccer field would be lost due to the new construction.
6. Traffic issues - a traffic light would be desirable, but �current traffic counts at the Recreation Center driveway do not warrant a light.� The state of Ohio would have to authorize a traffic light, as this location is not in Wyoming.
Also during that May City Council meeting, Mayor Savage asked if anyone felt that a public hearing was necessary on this matter. (No real response was made to this item). Mayor Savage asked if any members of City Council had any concerns regarding spending the money necessary to build a pool when it will not be located in the City of Wyoming. (Members discussed the six points above). Lastly, Mayor Savage suggested that Mr. Harrison go back and �look into the issues which have been raised by members tonight and obtain a professional�s answers and judgment on these issues�.
The task force worked diligently over the next few months and reported to City Council at their Jan. 17th, 2006, meeting. As discussion began at that meeting, �Mr. Howard Krueger informed Council that the Recreation Commission unanimously recommends the construction of the Municipal Family Aquatic Center at the Wyoming Recreation Center and adoption of the Aquatic Taskforce report on the Municipal Family Aquatic Center.� (per City Council minutes, 1/17/06) Much discussion followed, with input and concerns from many citizens who were present at the meeting.
Some of the facts about the proposed pool are:
1. The projected cost is $3.4 million, of which $1 million is for new buildings and the plaza.
2. The City will issue a bond to pay for the Aquatic Center; the principal and interest payment for this bond will cost the City approximately $244,120 per year. (I presume this will be paid with citizen tax dollars.)
3. Operating expenses are expected to be approximately $130,000/year. The proposed annual fee for a family at the new facility will be $250. Currently there are 256 members of the existing MuniciPool. (Doing the math: $250 x 256 members = $64,000; how will the huge shortfall be made up at the Aquatic Center?)
4. Only the lap pool itself will be heated, not the other areas.
5. The hike bike trail will be constructed along the eastern edge of the site with access to the Center. (I have yet to talk to a parent who will allow his/her child to USE this bike trail unescorted, even for kids who are 12-13 years old.)
6. The passers field will be lost due to the addition of the Aquatic Center.
7. Mr. Markey noted that typically there is a thirty year life expectancy for the hard infrastructure. Each piece of equipment will have its own life expectancy as will the various features such as the slide, which will need to be renovated in approximately ten years.
Now I�d like to pose some questions of my own:
1. What if Wyoming citizens feel that the $3.4 million price tag for construction is too high, given the small commercial tax base of our community?
2. What if Wyoming residents would prefer a �smaller� pool at the current centrally-located-in-Wyoming site? (The tennis courts could be moved to the Civic Center, or possibly to the Recreation Center. This would allow for expansion of the current pool and/or parking lot, and still have the advantage of being located in Wyoming. Did anyone seriously pursue these other options? Did anyone ask the citizens what their preference would be regarding location?).
3. What if operating costs are much higher than the $130,000 projection? (This is likely, due to the fact that other similar pools in the area have much higher operating costs; this discussion will have to wait for yet another written article.)
4. How does City Council plan to make up the huge shortfall from family dues, since there are currently only 256 members? (Even if more families join, the membership would have to more than double to break even. And�which non-residents would join? Woodlawn has their OWN new community center with a 3-year-old pool; their membership fees pale in comparison to Wyoming�s. Why would they want to join ours and pay such high fees?)
5. Considering that the �budgeted amount� for the new pool was supposed to be $2 million, how do City Council members expect the citizens to react to the almost-double price tag (especially without our input)?
6. What about the cost to demolish the old pool and bath houses? Shouldn�t this expense be included in the �pool project�? (The cost to demolish the old pool was going to be INCLUDED in the price tag IF the pool were to be constructed in its same location).
7. What if it�s not possible (or permissible, due to city laws) to construct a water pipe from Wyoming to the Recreation Center, in which case Cincinnati water will need to be purchased for the new pool? What will this cost be and who will pay? (Also, even if a pipe IS constructed, what is THAT cost? WHO will pay this cost? It is not included in the current price tag or operating expenses.)
8. Do Wyoming citizens want to be burdened with the increasing costs of maintaining a pool in Woodlawn? An article in The Tri-County Press from December, 2005, states that the Mason Community Center (which houses an in-door pool) is having trouble keeping up with on-going costs, in spite of raising the membership rates 3 years in a row. The family membership for the proposed Aquatic Center will be twice what the �usual� MuniciPool membership fee has been in the past. What happens when it increases even more? Won�t the number of memberships drop off?
9. What if Woodlawn zoning laws prevent construction from progressing as planned?
10. How do Wyoming citizens feel about having Woodlawn EMS and Police support this facility (instead of Wyoming EMS and Police)?
11. What if the state of Ohio does not authorize a traffic light for the proposed �new� entrance?
12. What will be the cost of relocating a soccer and/or lacrosse field? Who pays for this?
13. What if Wyoming residents (especially children) don�t use the new bike trail, due to lack of security?
14. What if the Millcreek were to back up into the proposed pool area, a concern expressed by Mr. O�Reilly at the July 18th City Council Meeting? (The Millcreek has backed up in the past into the basement of the Recreation Center, according to Bob Harrison).
15. What about the �smell� of the Millcreek, especially on a hot summer day?
16. Bob Harrison stated (at the 7/17/05 City Council meeting) that �the recreational space of a pool is no longer just a body of water. For a pool to be profitable, it now needs to include zero depth entries, water structures, etc.� Do the citizens of Wyoming agree with this statement? And are they willing to pay for an �elaborate� pool? How does City Council know? Have they done a survey? (This could be accomplished quite simply and inexpensively through using the internet.) Or how about putting this issue on the ballot, and letting citizens vote? Or if time doesn�t permit, why not hold a community forum to hear directly from the constituents? In fact, starting at the May 16, 2005, City Council meeting, council members brought up the issue of having one or more community nights to discuss the �pool project�. At their Aug. 30th meeting, the Pool Task Force recommended a community night for citizens, and reiterated this recommendation at the Jan. 17, 2006, City Council meeting. There were one or more citizens present at numerous City Council meetings in 2005 expressing the need for community input. So why won�t City Council HOLD a community forum?
If you refuse to involve the community and hear our input, may I suggest, council members, that you respond to the questions I have raised in this article? I would be happy to share the results with any Wyoming citizens who are interested.
Debbie Bellman
Resident of Wyoming for 40 years