As was expected the topic of the Peru Swimming Pool became the topic of the night. Instead of talking about the prospect of having an expert in aquatic construction come to Peru and examine the pool, the 7 aldermen almost voted to fill and open the pool as soon as Ken Drennan could fill the cracks which he said would take a couple of weeks. As long as Roger Chamlin says it is safe, they fall right in line and say "Open it" on schedule. Common sense, I don't think so.
It took a very insistent Mayor Harl to tell them we needed to wait and talk to the aquatic construction firm they have chosen to do a study of the structure and the feasibility of continuing to operate the pool in the present condition.
What part of the problem of a pool emptying itself of all the water it was filled with about 2-3 weeks ago, don't they understand? Don't worry about our Peru image as Leader of the Valley, that is long gone and getting more tarnished by the day.
The pool is 83 years old and long past the average lifespan of any pool which is from 30 to 50 years at most.
How long has the pool been developing cracks and leakage? Well I don't know the number in terms of years but in order to have had 3 concrete floorings put in, I would think a long time. Probably at least 10 years and maybe longer.
Why can't we build a new pool like a lot of other communities have? To the aldermen, I say this, just look in the mirror and see who had been voting year after year for excessive spending.
Our debt is currently at 45 million dollars and the council can believe it or not.
If Williams Aquatics says the pool is safe, go ahead and schedule the opening but if they don't it might be wise for you to take their advise and close our pool.
6 comments:
Just think, Lois we could have had a new pool if the council stayed in the mirror building. I wounder if they ever question themselves about some of the Dumb votes they have put through.
I'm glad Mayor Harl was strong enough to stand up to these aldermen, about opening the pool before an expert, says it safe to open. If it opens I will not have any of my family useing it.
It makes it very hard to swallow when environmentalist ask everyone to conserve water and we have a City council who cannot take the necessary steps to save thousands of gallons of water just so swimming can be done 3 mos out of the year. Children will get wet this summer - somehow, somewhere - COME ON ALDERMEN, DO WHAT YOU WERE VOTED IN TO DO - LOOK AFTER THE CITY AND ITS RESOURCES (MONEY, WATER, EXCESSIVE WAGE COSTS, ETC)
Yes, a huge majority of us are against careless spending of city money. Although, most of the huge majority do not take the time or the opportunity to express themselves.
Sad to say, that when 5 of 8 Peru citizens deem it necessary to spend money - then money will be spent. Mayor Harl all by himself cannot stop this from happening. Eight (8) against 1 does not stop spending.
The past mayoral election was a major and a positive step towards financial planning. Just how big of a step - we are still finding out. O'Beirne ran for Treasurer and then opted to keep the aldermanic chair instead of fulfilling the Treasurer position. Mayor Harl appointed Gary Hylla and allowed him to fulfill the duties of this office.
If more citizens were to take an interest in city council meetings - it would become evident to all, the attempts that Mayor Harl has taken to bring about change - some successful and others unsuccessful - but always an attempt at change for the better. Change lies on the shoulders of many players besides just the mayor, mainly the 8 aldermen and citizens of Peru.
Isn't it a shame that it took a downturn in the economy for us to realize we needed a wake up call. Many years and $45M late! We now have a new mayor who has campaigned on change and open government. As a citizen of Peru lets take part by becoming educated about the problems being encountered, looking to improving government by voting for the most qualified representatives and then monitoring their progress. Don't become apathic and assume that everything is being taken care of - it is the responsibility of each and everyone of us to make sure there is a check and balance system in place.
My first concern is safety for those who will be using the pool. If the aldermen say it's okay to open it and something happens, who is liable?
My first question is who is paying for all the money that is doing down the drain, so to speak? Are we, the citizens of Peru, paying for the leakage? If so, how much?
My second question concerns the total cost (water, electricity, wages, etc.) of having the pool available for 3 months. Have any of the alderman asked for those figures?
I am happy to see the mayor taking a stand in this issue. This project is not about pleasing people for the next election. It's about safely repairing or entirely replacing the pool.
Thank you, Lois, for keeping us abreast of the issue.
I have some figures to verify and since the city no longer posts anything past a couple of months online on city council meetings, I will need to FOIA the requests. I have head that Drennan was allotted 20,000 per summer for the last 6 years to maintain the pool.
It would also be interesting to see if and when the council voted and approved $15,000 for the fence around the senior league diamond. I'm almost positive that was not agreed upon but the minutes of previous meetings are no longer available on the website. You need to get a FOIA for that information and you need to know at what meeting it was decided. I"m pretty sure I looked that up before and it was stated that materials, labor, and equipment would be donated for the senior diamond.
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