The Jefferson municipal swimming pool will be ready to open next May with a new filter if all goes as planned. The Jefferson city council at its Nov. 12 meeting approved spending $82,557 for the filter and other small repair projects. Timely action on the purchase assures the filter will be in place for the 2014 swim season.
Funding will come from the city’s capital improvement fund, the park and recreation department’s share of hotel/motel tax revenue, and the general fund.
City engineer John Milligan had questioned an estimate for $78,855 presented at the Oct. 29 council meeting, saying he couldn’t tell if the written estimate included everything needed. He has since inspected the pool with a representative of the company that prepared the estimate, park and rec director Vicky Lautner, and city administrator Mike Palmer. Milligan reported that one leg on the filter is so badly rusted the filter would likely fall over within a year.
After that inspection PVC coating on the filter was added to the estimate.
Milligan recommended to the city council that every department include in its annual budget funds to set aside for large equipment needs. Councilperson Shannon Black has been on the park and recreation board for several years. She told the council that every year the park and rec budget committee recommends setting aside funds, but when cuts are needed, those are the funds eliminated in order to meet present, ongoing needs.
Milligan again said the filter should have been maintained better. “Once that rust starts, it’s a progressive thing. It’s highly chlorinated water and it’s very corrosive. Just by cleaning the rust off and putting on a proper coating you could stop a lot of this,” he said. “On an annual basis, when you see rust starting to form, you take care of it.”
Councilplerson Larry Teeples questioned if Milligan, as city engineer, could inspect the pool systems at least once a year and recommend needed work. Going forward, Milligan will do that inspection every September after the pool closes.
