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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 10:29 AM CST
Rotary Pool upgrade gets voter approval

BY ROB STROUD, Staff Writer

CHARLESTON -- Voters on Tuesday authorized the city to issue $1.5 million in municipal bonds to help upgrade the leaking, 28-year-old Rotary Community Pool.

City Manager Scott Smith said he was not surprised by the positive outcome, 1,233-424, of the bond referendum.

"I think we worked very, very hard for a long time to get to this point," Smith said.

Smith and recreation Director Brian Jones said the project has been in the works for many years. They also said members of the swim team board, and Charleston Parks and Recreation Advisory Board spent a lot of time in the community discussing the need for the upgrades.

"The voters have spoken and they want to see the pool renovated, and it's our task to see it gets done," Smith said.

Smith said he and Comptroller Tamara Moshtagh will start preparing for issuing the bonds, which the city would pay off over up to 20 years with sales tax revenue.

In addition, Smith said he and Jones will also work on submitting an application to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources by July 1 for up to $400,000 in matching grant funds. He said private funds may also be sought from within the community.

Some work on the pool could proceed even before the city would find out in early 2005 if it received the state grant, he said.

Much of the upgrades will focus on the pool's infrastructure, which leaked approximately 500,000 gallons of water last summer.

One of the most visible improvements will be the replacement of the baby and youth pools with a sloped-entry pool featuring colorful splash toys. Those toys would be serviced by a nearby mechanical building that could also provide a secondary concession area.

Other improvements would include the addition of a movable bulkhead to the main pool for swimming meets, extending the roof of the bathhouse to provide more shade, and raising the floor of the slide pool to allow for more general-use swimming.

Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.

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