What will it take to build the family aquatic center?
Staff writer
Now that the half cent sales tax to build the new pool has passed, you've got to wonder, where do we go from here?
Mayor Delores Dalke says that the city has already signed a contract with Burbach Aquatics, Inc., out of Platteville, Wisc., to go ahead with the proposed plans subject to approval. Now that the tax increase is going to be a reality, they have that approval. The city council had a special meeting last Tuesday to sign a letter telling the engineering firm to go ahead with the plans.
Next week the council will meet with the city financial advisor to pass the ordinance to levy the sales tax.
In the next couple of weeks, there will be drilling at the aquatic center site. The engineers will need to test the soil to determine how big the footing will need to be, and possibly where things will be located.
Dalke says there could be some movement of where things at the pool are placed and how to locate things on the site, but says there won't be changes in what is there.
"I think we've agreed on what the basic pool will be," said Dalke.
City administrator Steve Garrett and Dalke agree that the city will start accepting bids sometime around the end of the summer, and hope for digging for the new pool to begin in early fall.
Dalke is excited because she didn't think there would be any good visual projects going on this year, and the aquatic center being built will definitely offer people the opportunity to see change.
The old pool site won't be destroyed until the new pool is up and running, according to Garrett. He says the plan is to demolish the old pool for safety and aesthetic reasons.
Keep a look out on the new site, and hopefully you will see some action by late September. The city plans for the new pool to be ready for a 2006 spring opening.
