Aquatic center in the works
Hillsboro City Council met Tuesday evening in regular session. Jerry Rayl, city financial adviser from Gold Capital Management in Wichita, presented three options to the council for construction of a family aquatic cnter.
Rayl, city administrator Steve Garrett, and mayor Delores Dalke met this past Thursday morning to discuss the issue.
According to Rayl, the city has three options. One is to issue general obligations bonds which takes 120-150 days and requires an election by the populace. The second option is to issue bonds under public building commission bonds which requires publishing a resolution of intent to issue bonds and gives electors the opportunity to petition for an election. Both options would increase the mill levy.
Rayl's recommendation is the third option — a half cent increase in sales tax.
Raising the sales tax from the current 6.8 to 7.3 percent will require an election.
"With a sales tax, everyone pays," said Rayl.
The consensus of the council was that increasing the mill levy is not likely.
"We've spent a lot of money looking at pools already," said Dalke. "Now it is time to talk about what we want to do. Does the public really want a new swimming pool?"
"If the public wants a new pool, we'll build one," said council member Matt Hiebert. "If the public doesn't want one, then in a year or two the city will be out of the pool business."
According to Garrett, the pool's condition has deteriorated and the pool will be inoperable within a couple of years.
"We sold the first half cent tax increase based on the fact that everyone who drives on our streets should pay for them," Dalke said. "We could sell this increase in the same way."
Rayl suggesting holding public meetings to discuss building the aquatic center and the sales tax increase.
"We need to put it to a vote," Hiebert said. "There's the answer."
According to Rayl, the council needs hard numbers before taking the issue to the voters.
"We need to have the numbers," said Rayl. "You need hard costs, drawings, everything. The question today is do you want to continue to spend money to get to an election or do you want to stop looking at building a pool."
Consensus from council members was that the issue needs to be taken to the voters.
"When we began talking about this issue, the picture was that if we built the pool, it would pay for itself," said council member Len Coryea.
According to Garrett, for that to happen the city will have to change its way of running the pool.
"We'll have to run the pool like a business, not a service," Garrett said.
The council unanimously approved continuing to work with consultant Nancy Ronto, Burbach Aquatics Inc., Keystone, Colo., to have plans for an aquatic center to take to the voters.
The council members will hold a work session to draw up plans to cover the liquor-by-the-drink issue.
"The city can regulate the liquor-by-the-drink question by zoning, licensing, and regulating hours of operation," said city attorney Dan Baldwin. "But the overall question is settled."
Bob Previtera of Reiss and Goodness Engineers presented a contract to the city to complete the Main Street project on three blocks of South Main from A Street to D Street. He estimated the project could cost $150,000.
Bids will be let in March and the project might start in May or June.
The council approved signing a contract with Reiss and Goodness for the project.
Dalke and Garrett heard a presentation from Ed Carney, resident biologist for KDHE, on blue-green algae.
Although no there were no resolutions to the problem, Dalke and Garrett felt the continued dialogue by KDHE is a positive sign.
"We need to continue to keep this issue in the forefront," said Dalke.
The council went into executive session at 5:30 p.m. for 15 minutes to discuss potential legal matters. No action was taken.
In other business council:
— approved vouchers of $65,968.63.
— approved refinancing general obligation refunding bonds.
— heard from Jared Jost, Hillsboro Management Board representative, that Jon Wiebe of Mennonite Foundation will be the speaker at the December chamber luncheon.
— heard from Garrett that he is still working on changes in the city's peddlers' license.
