City to close outdoor pool
Elected officials cite safety and environmental concerns
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Councilors made the difficult decision Monday night to close the outdoor pool facility for 2013, citing numerous safety and environmental concerns as the reason.
Prior to their June 3 meeting, councilors toured the Main Street facility, getting a firsthand look at the problems, including a crumbling back wall and drainage issues. Chris Beaulieu, director of the Recreation and Parks Department, provided reports for councilors’ packets detailing the various scenarios involved in either keeping both the indoor and outdoor pools open, closing them or keeping one open and closing the other.
“As far as the indoor pool, I’ve provided several different options. My recommendation is to continue running the facility as we have been,” Beaulieu said, speaking before City Council.
Beaulieu said the other memo focused “a lot on the condition of the facility (outdoor pool).”
“It’s a little rougher. I hate to say it and hate to do it, but I recommend we don’t open the outdoor pool this year,” Beaulieu said.
Beaulieu said summer was a busy time at the indoor pool but accommodations could be made to work with the approximately 140 children currently registered for outdoor swimming lessons.
“One compromise would be to provide general swim during the week and charge $1. There’s quite a difference between both facilities. Not everyone can afford to go to the indoor pool,” he said.
According to Beaulieu, if councilors decided to open the outdoor pool this year, “a lot of work would have to happen — would take a couple weeks at least.”
City Manager Jim Bennett suggested pushing the decision off two weeks so answers could be obtained regarding swimming lessons.
“I’m uncomfortable with not providing services to all the kids. I want to be able to say ‘this is how we’d provide those services’ if we only open the indoor pool,” Bennett said.
Councilor Dick Engels questioned accessibility.
“The outdoor pool is more accessible. Would it be possible to use the rec bus from the Rec Center to the indoor pool once a day?” asked Engels. Beaulieu said it was something to consider.
“We want to serve as many kids as possible. It’s one thing we could look at as a possibility,” Beaulieu said.
Engels said councilors learned a great deal on their tour of the outdoor facility.
“We became worried about the potential danger — collapse of the retaining wall, water lost to the streets. The bottom of the pool raises when full due to water seepage. It led me to believe the pool is potentially dangerous,” said Engels. “The pool may be an icon, but sometimes icons outlive their usefulness.”
Engels suggested bringing state officials in to find out what’s needed to bring it up to date.
Councilor Craig Green noted he’d obtained about 10 pages of public testimony, many wanting to keep the pool. But he said health issues were “un-resolvable.”
“The pool holds 1 million gallons and is drained every two weeks. We’re not sure where it goes. That, along with underground water seepage coming into the pool — the integrity of the pool is a major concern,” said Green.
“As unpopular as it is, I have no problem saying from a safety and environmental standpoint, it shouldn’t be open,” said Green, who also serves as president of the Presque Isle Historical Society. “It’s an historic part of Presque Isle and I hate to lose it, but knowing what we’ve talked about, I’m not sure how to do it (safely open the outdoor pool).”
Council Chair Emily Smith agreed it was a safety issue. She suggested working with the University of Maine at Presque Isle for use of the pool in Gentile Hall.
“When the campus is closed, maybe they’d work with us,” said Smith. “One of the biggest concerns is how to teach kids to swim and have the Rec serve them. It could be at the indoor pool, a roped-off section of a lake or stream.”
Lack of funds in the municipal coffer has resulted in infrastructure repairs being delayed, including much-needed maintenance for Rec Department facilities, including the outdoor pool.
Bennett said the Council “shouldn’t be embarrassed” since it’s an “issue of the state owing money.”
“It’s not us asking with our hat in our hand, it’s money the law says is owed us. I do understand the difficulties involved with the state budget, but that’s the nexus driving this and everything else,” said Bennett.
Green suggested scholarships could be established to assist in funding the cost of swimming lessons at the indoor pool.
“We’ve saved multiple lives through teaching swimming over the years. Scholarships could be provided for kids to afford to go to the indoor pool. If there’s something we can do, we need to find it,” Green said.
Ann Wight, a resident, said she thought it was “a crime we’ve let this happen” since “so many children in the community don’t have the money to pay to go to the indoor pool.”
“I’m very angry,” said Wight.
Green sympathized but said “this is kind of a situation where it’s disintegrated. We have nothing we can do today but react. We need to educate our children (how to swim) and need to find a creative way to do that.”
Jeanie Gilson, a resident whose children learned to swim at the pool and later taught swimming lessons, asked if the outdoor pool was closed, would a new one be integrated into plans for the new Community Center.
Councilor Bruce Sargent said councilors have considered the combination, with Engels noting it depends on fund-raising.
Gilson said the pool serves as a draw to bring kids back home, but without it, out-migration would continue to be a problem.
Craig told her she was “preaching to the choir” but that safety and environmental concerns need to be addressed.
Smith said efforts would be made to ensure as many employees as possible would be transitioned to the indoor pool.
In concluding discussion on the matter, councilors agreed to meet June 24 to continue talks on how to handle swimming lessons and open swim times at the indoor pool.
“I suggest suspending its use for a year until we can determine its future, as opposed to shutting down (entirely) without having additional information. We should get environmental input — have facts and a plan in place for the rest of the season,” said Bennett.
Councilors approved the closure of the outdoor pool for the 2013 season, with plans to obtain additional information on environmental and safety concerns before a permanent closure of the facility is voted on.
