Peru which has touted itself as "Leader of the Valley" for at least the last 20 years is now facing the prospect of having to close the swimming pool enjoyed by area residents for the last 83 years. When Spring Valley, Oglesby and Ottawa did not have a swimming pool in their towns in the past, Peru did. Kind of like a symbol of being ahead of the times and being able to afford it.
The history of the pool is a little murky it seems with no record of the construction but possibly done by the WPA during the Depression. As I listened to the conversation among Council Members, I got the feeling there are no maintenance records. So when were the 3 concrete floors put in and by whom? Was work done by our city workers as has the constant patching that has been done for many years?
The safety concern seems to be as to whether a wash of water constantly leaking through the concrete may have washed away whatever is the base under the pool which has 3 bottom layers of floor.
Is there even a remote possibility of damage and what would be the legal ramifications if anything happened while people are in the pool. Roger Chamlin said he would not be concerned about the bottom giving way. The City Atty is concerned about any legal difficulties that may come about if we knowlingly opened the pool that is having problems.
When Drennan was asked what would happen if they plugged the outlet to the ravine where the water is flowing out. He replied that that would "float the pool out of the ground" So what would happen if a natural occuring blockage took place?
Concrete does crack as is well know by anyone with a concrete driveway usually caused by shifts in the ground below. Is the pressure of the water continually being replaced causing the cracks in the pool. What would happen if the cracks were repaired in the fall when the pool is emptied, would we have new cracks in the spring as the pool has sat empty all winter?
The Council will vote on Monday to do a feasibility study by Williams Aquatic Co. for 15,000. They will also determine whether it is possible to repair the pool.
15 comments:
Lois - Let's hope they do vote to accept the feasibility study and more importantly vote to leave the pool alone until the "EXPERTS" determine whether it is safe or not. After all, we were concerned about the safety of the tennis players and the baseball players. Shouldn't we be extremely concerned about the children of our town and surrounding towns?
The pool at Washington Park pre-dates the depression by a couple of years. The photograph in the book is not very good, but it looks a little smaller. I suppose WPA could have expanded it. The building looks identical.
We don't need to pay a consultant $15K to tell us what we already know. The pool needs to be removed and replaced. Unfortunately, we don't have any money. So the facility should be closed for a few years while we save for the construction.
From "Peru Centennial" Published by the Peru Historic Committee" in 1935.
"In April, 1927, the voters approved a bond issue
to provide a swimming pool at the Park, and contracts were let for the construction of the pool, for a filtration system and bathhouse, and a sidewalk around the pool.
On June 24, 1928, in connection with a district
American Legion Convention being held here, the
pool was formally dedicated to Peru's war veterans."
Unfortunately, I think the pool is a disaster waiting to happen! Lets face it, I think the people and the city have gotten thier monies worth out of this pool! Time to bite the bullet and fix it the right way! If a persons roof leaks, do you keep waiting for it to stop on its own, or better yet call a contractor over and look at it, and say yes its leaking, and it needs to be fixed before it gets worse! Use common sense!
Brian, thank you for the history of the pool.
I cannot believe that anyone would even consider opening the pool if there is a remote possibility that a safety issue might exist. Let's let the experts determine if it's safe for our children. I, too, hate to take it away from them but their safety and futures are way more important than a summer of swimming.
Monday's agenda includes deciding whether or not to open the pool for 2010. I sincerely hope that our aldermen will have an expert determine whether or not a safety issue exists. They do not need to vote on it this soon. After all they can now vote on issues at every meeting and the pool does not open until Memorial Day weekend. Those cracks that Mr, Drennan says he has to repair every year are, in my opinion, a concern as to the stability of the base of the pool.
We know the pool is not safe. Why even open it.
Put the $15,000 from the feasibility study in a CD, and keep the interest, and when there is any extra money, and enough to build a new pool, then do it. Why waste $15,000, We know its in bad shape. If there is a safety issue, even a tiny one, you close it.
This question that I have does not belong under this heading but I didn't know where else to put it. I cannot understand where the city's monies went during good economic times. By that, I mean all I can see is the new City Hall building. Our streets are a disgrace, our infastructure is collapsing, our pool is sinking, we have no camera or vac truck, our lawn mowers and city trucks have had to be updated, we're in financial difficulty etc., etc. Maybe our low tax rate has resulted in a city that seems to be falling apart around us.
Brian - The pool issue will remain one of the most politically charged topics in town precisely because we do "not" know exactly what we have. And sadly, the lack of knowledge and understanding about the condition and operation of the pool appears to be the way someone wants it. The pool discussion by city officials has been an annual tradition each spring for at least the past six years that I have witnessed first hand, and probably much longer than that. Here is how it plays out every year. An alderman, usually O'Beirne will make an obscure reference in open meeting about the need to address the water loss at the pool and how they should get going on "preparing" it for the summer. He will mention water loss and the need for "someone" to determine where all that water is going. Next, there will be some token outrage from an alderman or two followed by the standard and I quote, "That's like letting money go down the drain?" I have watched this ritual for years and it always results in the same action. O'Beirne will say something like "we need to get Kenny going on making that pool ready for those poor children of Peru and he will provide us a detailed report on where that water is going. Everybody then nods in agreement. This is the point each year where I swear I have become Bill Murray's character in the movie "Groundhog's Day". They haunt me with this every spring.
Here is what really happens. Jack O'Beirne has lobbied for and been given the blessing of the council for "unlimited" overtime for his favorite plumber, Ken Drennen to "save" the summer for the children of Peru. And don't forget about all the parents and families of those poor kids. After all who would dare try to deprive those sweaty little candy eaters a place to cool off during those dog days of a midwest summer. Who indeed?
For me, the most interesting aspect of the pool condition (water loss) issue is this. After years of investigation by the in-house "speacialist", and also a few contractors who have been allowed to look at the pool operation, there has never been a single detailed report provided by anybody telling us what is really going on with that pool. Including a contractor that was hired by the city to evaluate and videotape the plumbing at the pool a couple of summers back. Where is the report from the contractor? Where is the videotape of the piping we paid for? Why are there no records and so little real information about the maintenance history of that pool? I believe there has been a deliberate effort to prevent a dependable and accurate understanding of the Peru Municipal Pool and its operation for years.
That is why it is imperative that a professional consultant be allowed to assess our pool whether we decide to build a new facility or not. We will finally have the "honest" evaluation we require in order to move forward.
If we hear Jack O'Beirne launch into his pool jibberish again next March it will certainly be another sad and confusing Groundhog Day for all of Peru.
If, in fact, there have been "qualified" pool contractor/engineers who have inspected this pool relative to the water leaks in the past, then they should be brought back for questioning. Or, at a minimum, their reports need to be resurrected. If these reports cannot be found and no minutes to meetings wherein this was reported......then a check of the Tresurer's payout register for services rendered should produce, at least, a name to allow a follow up. Accountable time is here! Peru is no longer a village of Mayor and Aldermen doing what they will, paying who they want and not being held accountable. Don't vote on paying out more money until all records have been checked and reviewed. Why pay for something that has already been done and seemingly on more than one occasion. Checking past records of minutes should be easy enough as this is an issue that comes up in March/April - go back 5-10 years. The pool should not be opened unless there is a certification of safety from a licensed professional pool expert/engineer.
AMEN 12:31 and 7:32 but I will be surprised if our aldermen would agree to getting a certification of safety and or looking for lost reports. I wish someone would bring this kind of information up at Monday's meeting.
Let's play an important game called "LEADER OF THE ILLINOIS VALLEY": (Any age can play)
Game pieces are:
Swimming Pool
Airport
Mirror Building
New City Building
Infrastructure
Library
Battery Operated Truck
Five CAT Generator Sets
Comcast PEG
A3 Bond Rating
$19,580,000 General Obligation bonds
$43,000,000 City Debt
Game instructions: Identify what year each of the game pieces became an issue and then, what year they originally started to be resolved.
The person who can claim the most factual resolutions, wins the game. (The game piece must be totally resolved to have a factual resolution)
I just went to look at the pool. It is virtually empty of water with the exception of a small amount in the deep end. I did not witness any huge cracks that would cause this much water loss in such a short period of time. I"m not saying they don't exist but I do find it very difficult to believe that that much water would leak through a crack. And, obviously it didn't evaporate or get splashed out. If it did leak out through the cracks it's got to be sitting under the pool base somewhere because wasn't it determined that there are 3 bases?
I would like to know how the city can support ANY new pool building talks with the financial situation we are in! I for one will remember come time to vote if they decide on spending city money on a new pool when it is opened for 3 months out of 12 of the year. Then we all will be paying the debt off of a new pool for a few to use, when we have terrible roads that need to be fixed for many to use! Many of us are against careless spending of the city money! Where is this change that was suppose to come with the new mayoral election, I and many others are still waiting to see any constructive actions from the promises during the campaign. Please show us citizens that the spending will be done carefully and with more thought than from past years. Money is tight for all and with the way the economy is this should be a wake up call to all, thank you.
Do you people realize that every game piece listed above are a direct result of our past administration and our current aldermen?
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