Nikole Babb
nbabb@cherryroad.com
At Wednesday evening’s work session on December 11, the El Dorado Aquatic Center Committee met with the El Dorado City Commission to discuss intentions and plans for the future aquatic center. It was mentioned during the September 16 City Commission meeting by Jeremy Sundgren and Patrick Todd during public comment that El Dorado needed a new public pool. During the Commission comment period, it was motioned to appoint Kelly Tetrick to form a committee with private citizens and work towards plans for what the pool and facility would look like.
The Aquatic Center Committee was formed and now meets weekly or bi-weekly to formulate plans and ideas on what and how an aquatic center can serve the residents of El Dorado. Sundgren and Todd originally proposed the idea due to the El Dorado recreational swim team hosting the league championships in 2025 and 2026. The current city pool isn’t big enough to host the league’s swimmers and is costing the city more than it should, according to city staff.
During the work session on Wednesday, it was mentioned by Mayor Bill Young that the pool currently costs $250,000 to upkeep, operate, and maintain, including staffing costs. Members of the committee voiced that the pool is costly to operate and maintain due to its age and old operating features.
The committee proposed that they would like to see an aquatic center that has an indoor and outdoor pool so the water can be utilized year-round by residents and outside visitors. This can include USD 490 use, Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital use for therapy, and for public community pool use. Both pools would feature deep and shallow areas with play features that can be multi-use and feature 6-8 lanes if financially possible.
The committee also said that the YMCA is not comparable to the facility being proposed because it cannot be used for competition due to insufficient depth, no diving blocks, and not enough room to host the league for competition. As of right now, students who wish to compete in swimming must drive to Marion or Wichita to practice with proper gear and depth.
Staffing was a concern brought up by the commission due to this year’s challenges the city faced in finding lifeguards to work as well as the YMCA. It was suggested to incorporate “unguarded” days with no lifeguards available with caution or warning signs around the pool, informing people that no lifeguards would be on duty, except for facility managers who would be properly trained for emergencies.
The committee recently hired Garver as the project consultant. The company will begin to look at several potential locations soon, including the current pool located in Forest Park a 900 Taylor, the El Dorado Disc Golf Course at 604 SW Haverhill Rd, and Rio Park at 900 Osage. Public opinion will be taken into consideration through several surveys throughout the process of the facility planning.
“I love the idea, we just need to figure out how we’re going to pay for it,” said Mayor Bill Young.
The funding of the facility would come from a combination of private funding as well as taxpayer funding since it will be city owned. The cost hasn’t been estimated yet as no plans or blueprints have been solidified or drawn up.
For taxpayers, City Manager David Dillner said that can look like a special sales tax such as General Sales Tax that sunsets in 10 years or longer if they choose. It can be as small as a quarter of a cent or a half center sales tax as not to burden the sales tax much more. As of right now, the city sales tax is at 7.5%. Enacting a sales tax requires a public vote by residents. Nothing has been discussed officially as to changing the sales tax but will be part of future discussions once the price of the facility is determined.
The City Commission will next meet on Monday, December 16 at 5:30pm at City Hall located at 220 E First Ave. The agenda includes a quarterly update from Main Street and a consideration of a resolution that redefines the boundary limits of the City of El Dorado.
