Check back here tonight for results
By Tyler Lamb
Editor
Elkhorn’s aging municipal swimming pool at Sunset Park may be on its last legs, but city officials will ask residents for guidance Nov. 5 on the fate of the recreation area.
“For the past two or three councils, the pool has always been in question on whether to move forward or not,” said Brian Olson, Common Council president and District 6 alderman. “Within each of those councils it has been split, so basically no action was taken.
“It has gotten to a point where a referendum made sense. The pool is not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, thus we are not in compliance and we could get shut down at any point,” he continued. “That’s why we decided to go to referendum. Let the people assist us.”
The Nov. 5 referendum question posed to voters reads: “Should the city council replace the swimming facility at Sunset Park with a new facility with the following conditions: (1) spending and/or borrowing on the facility is not to exceed $3.5 million and; (2) The facility will be built within the corporate limits of the city of Elkhorn?”
“The total on the referendum election itself is an estimated $7,500,” Olson said. “It could possibly be a little less than that.
“The actual funding will be part of an estimated $7.5 million borrowing package that will go towards capital improvements,” he continued. “The pool would be part of capital improvement note.”
Subsequent action by the city council is not bound by the referendum results.
“We did discuss a binding referendum; however, due to some state statutes it is very clear that legally we cannot bind a future body to borrowing,” Olson said. “That’s why it went to an advisory referendum.
“I took a straw poll that should it pass, this current city body would likely take action on it, and the votes were there,” the Council president continued.
According to city officials, the following items would likely be among the minimum requirements for a new facility: zero-depth entry, a Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant pool and bath house, six competitive swimming lanes and starting blocks, a dual-sided concession stand to serve pool and park activities, a diving area, an expanded deck and a slide.
Voting will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at the city recreation center in Sunset Park.
“Get out and vote,” Olson encouraged residents.
For more information on the Nov. 5 election, see www.cityofelkhorn.org.
History
The pool was built more than 40 years ago in Sunset Park. It has needed numerous repairs across the years, including a repair project done about 12 years ago designed to extend the life of the pool by 10 years, according to records. The pool also underwent wide-ranging retrofitting in 2009 to comply with federal safety standards.
This past spring, city officials raised concerns as to whether or not the pool could operate in its present condition for another season.
Despite a legal opinion that the city was open to substantial risk or injuries occurring the pool, it was ultimately open to the public.
In a legal opinion on the city’s liability should an accident occur from the deteriorating conditions of the pool City Attorney Ward D. Phillips concluded state law on recreational use of public facilities allowed the city to claim immunity from liability. Ward also added the only way possible way the city could face legal action was if someone could prove his or her injury was caused by maliciousness, according to his letter.
As part of Ward’s review, he studied a memo from Jeffrey Simons, parks and recreation director, about the condition of the pool.
“I am concerned that some of the issues raised by Mr. Simons, while perhaps not a violation of an existing safety regulation, are serious enough that the city has recognized a known danger such that immunity under (state law) could be lost,” Ward wrote.
Simons’ memo states:
• the bathhouse roof is rotting, and lifeguard stands need replacing;
• locker rooms are insecure because people can climb the side of the crumbling walls to get inside;
• bracing on the surge tank has rusted off and it’s bowing, and a wall in mechanical room is crumbling;
• the pool deck is deteriorating;
• problems with the concrete behind pool walls cause it to leak water; and
• some filters need replacing, and a pipe for the pool is leaking.
