Boyd floating idea for pool

BY CARRIE KIRSCHNER - The Independent

CATLETTSBURG May 13, 2008 11:56 pm

— Months after county officials sunk the idea of purchasing the former Breezeland swimming pool they are floating the idea of building their own pool and recreation facility.
Boyd County Judge-Executive William “Bud” Stevens is proposing the project be built at the site of the former Gertrude Ramey Children’s Home on Bob McCullough Drive. The county took ownership of the property in 2003 and demolished its dilapidated buildings earlier this spring.
Stevens said the facility will include an Olympic-sized main pool in addition to a kiddie pool with popular water playground features such as waterfall mushrooms. Basketball, tennis and shuffle board courts are also being proposed along with a concession stand and locker rooms.
The project hasn’t received approval yet from the fiscal court, which to date has only discussed the plans behind closed doors. The facility has never appeared on a formal meeting agenda nor been discussed in an open meeting.
Two of the fiscal court’s three commissioners say they need more information, including how much building the facility would cost, before they are willing to dive into the project. They are expected to openly discuss the plans Tuesday and possibly vote to approve it.
Stevens said a cost estimate is expected this week. He declined to speculate on a projected cost.
He proposes to pay for the project using funds generated from fees paid by the Big Run Landfill. The county is projecting it will collect $750,000 from the landfill in the coming fiscal year, Stevens said. “Over a five-year span we could pay it off from the landfill only,” he said.
Commissioner David Salisbury said he isn’t opposed to the project, he’s just not sure it’s the best use of current county funds. “I’m still pretty firm on that I’d like to take care of what we have before we start worrying about new stuff,” he said.
Salisbury said he’d like to see the county upgrade some of its sports fields and county parks first. He also favors the county evaluating its recreational facilities and developing a long-range strategic recreation plan.
Commissioner Carl Tolliver said he also has lots of unanswered questions. He said he is concerned that other communities have either closed their facilities or are taking severe losses to operate them. He points to the nearby Dreamland pool in Kenova, which closed early the last two years, and Ashland’s Dawson Pool that operated at a loss last year.
Tolliver said he is also concerned about the cost of liability insurance on the facility and whether it will be as well-used as hoped. More families are building their own backyard pools, he said, and children are spending more time on multiple vacations each summer, going with both family and friends.
“I’m just not convinced this is the best move,” he said, adding he also favors upgrading the county’s current facilities. “The ball fields and shelters need to be repaired. That’s where I think we should use our money.”
Commissioner Marvin “Coach” Meredith agrees with Stevens that the project should be built immediately. He also agrees with Salisbury and Tolliver that the county should be heavily reinvesting in its current sports facilities.
“I’m in favor of doing both of them. What has happened here, in the last 75 years I don’t think we’ve done hardly anything for the youth of this county. It’s about time we start investing things back,” he said.
Stevens and Meredith say that the other facilities, like ball fields and park shelters, don’t appeal to the range of residents that a swimming and recreation complex would.
“It is my belief that a community pool will assist in our efforts to touch the lives of all families,” Stevens said. “From the elderly to the infant, every family member will be able to enjoy the pool.”
Stevens and Meredith say they also believe building a pool could help prevent area youth from getting involved in drugs or drug activity.
“I am highly concerned about losing the next generation in our community, if we don’t take steps to keep them active, healthy and safe. We currently have no structured programs in the community for our families,” Stevens said.
He added, “The pool and the recreation area will get kids out of the house, off the couch, away from the computer and television and into healthy activities free from drugs and alcohol.”
Meredith said he thinks there is a lot of public support to build the pool and repair the ball fields. “I just think they’ve got a lot of possibilities,” he said.
The Fiscal Court’s next regular scheduled meeting is set for Tuesday, May 20, at 10 a.m. At least three county officials must vote in favor of the measure for it to pass.
CARRIE KIRSCHNER can be reached at ckirschner@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2653.