Bond seeks new pool for Othello

After failing last year, city leaders optimistic it will pass Nov. 2

OTHELLO- This city wants a new pool, again.

Spurned by voters' 2003 attempt to raise the money to build a pool, city leaders and private citizens have teamed up with the Adams County Parks and Recreation District in order to put out a stronger campaign and convince voters to pony up and build a new facility.

Last year, optimism before the election was quickly replaced by disbelief afterwards, as supporters of the bond watched their initiative fall short of the 60 percent needed to pass it. They also saw the city squeeze another year of use out of their crumbling, leaking pool at Lions Park. They no longer have that luxury.

"The pool is permanently closed and will not reopen again," said Othello Mayor Jeannie Sanders.

Sanders and others hoping to bring a new pool say that the closure of the old facility makes a big difference this time around. Although costing the city thousands of dollars in repairs each year, the old pool was still there, and that kept people from fully supporting the bond for a new pond.

Another factor they are counting on is that the bond's price tag is slightly slower this year. Instead of being set at $3 million for 20 years, it will instead be at $2.85 million for 20 years. Chuck Allen, chairman of the Othello Pool Replacement Committee, said that the end result is about $33.10 per $1,000 value of a house.

"That works out to be about $2.76 a month," he said. "For the price of a hamburger, the average homeowner gets to have a nice new pool."

Regardless of whether the pool bond passes, Othello will have no pool for all of 2005, but no worries, the pool supporters say, the wait will be worth it, and the old facility was too much of a headache.

Bill Bethmann, member of the parks and recreation district, said the old pool was lagging behind on more than a dozen state codes, and bringing it up to date would have cost $1 million or more.

This new pool may not be a "fancy waterworld," Bethmann said, but it will be an adequate pool that will meet the requirements, including a zero-level entrance for people with disabilities.

The 20-year bond carries an agreement that the pool, if built, will be a cooperative effort between the park district and the city for the length of that agreement. That way, although greatly backed by Othelloans, it will also serve the needs of people outside city limits. After the two decades, the city will gain full ownership of the pool.

For $2.85 million, the city and the district still hope to get "the best bang for their buck," Sanders said, adding that once the levy is passed, they are going to try and get as many frills as they can for the money.

Ideas such as the $150,000-wave generator may have been discarded, but this new pool will have plenty of potential, Allen said.

"One thing that we want to do is make sure that the equipment we buy is low-maintenance," he said. "That way, the pool is less costly to maintain down the road."

Down the road is a plan to build a roof for the pool, making it usable year-round, Allen said. They hope to include the option for a roof in the designs of the new facility.

The immediate future looks pool-less for Othello, and the long-term future looks roof-less for the pool. Still, all those behind the dream hope that the bond makes a splash the second time around.

"We have worked pretty hard to try and pass it," Bethmann said. "We'd like to get something done."