Amid growing costs, Colfax hears options for pool

COLFAX — The Colfax City Council is beginning to research options on what to do about an aging and costly Colfax municipal pool.

The council reluctantly approved $5,846 in repairs to the facility in January, and figures detailed at February’s city budget workshop show the pool with roughly $24,000 in revenue in 2016 versus a budgeted $51,500 in operating costs.

Council members fear these trends are not sustainable. To get expert advice on the situation, the city invited Wisconsin-based architect and engineering firm Burbach Aquatics, Inc. to present options at the Feb. 13 city council meeting.

Burbach Aquatics Business Development Director Roger L. Schamberger brought in examples of other small town pools his company has either built or remodeled to help communities keep residents from visiting neighboring aquatic centers.

The company offers a multi-phase approach, including a usage and feasibility study which would involve community input. The council made no decisions on the pool’s future Feb. 13, and did not commit to the company’s services.

The Burbach representative provided no cost estimates at the meeting, but Schamberger said municipal pools should not always be thought of as a revenue producer for the city, but as a quality of life amenity to keep residents engaged in the community.

“Pools are heavily subsidized. That’s a well know fact. Some of these facilities will break even, some times in a good year they’ll make a little bit of money,” Schamberger said. “Aggressive management, marketing and having groups come in after hours and rent it, swimming lessons and concessions are all revenue producers.”

The pool was built in the 1970s and currently has a diving board, concession stand and children’s wadding pool. Colfax Mayor David Mast said part of the issue is the pool’s features are aging and have not kept up with neighboring aquatic centers in Altoona and Newton.

“Part of our challenge is 15 miles east and 15 miles west you find larger cities with large pools with modern aquatic things,” Mast said.

Schamberger countered that for a small town, the convenience and proximity of a local pool could be framed as an advantage.

“The thing is you don’t find small children on bicycles riding to (larger city pools),” he said.

Several of the city council members appear hesitant on any bid to remodel or rehab the pool, but they were interested in the possibility of the feasibility study offered by Burbach Aquatics.

“Our pool is at a big money loss right now,” councilman Brad Magg said. “I don’t see us in the foreseeable future having funds to have a pool to really compete with our neighbors. But maybe we could add a slide or a few updates to be somewhat competitive to stop the hemorrhaging a little bit.”

But people are using the facility. Attendance data stated at the budget meeting noted the pool had 2,100 paid uses in 2016, on top of annual pass holders.

Councilwoman Karla Jones, who’s been calling for a study on the pool for years, still thinks those numbers are lower than what they need to be.

“The current status is a concern because it’s under utilized, in my opinion,” Jones said. “It’s not always attractive to young families because there are no competing fun devices that other pools have. We have to decide what we can do. I’m certainly interested in a technical evaluation. I think public feedback is critically important to base the decision on what we do.”

Councilman Curt Small called the pool “a money pit,” and that any renovation would be a “hard pill to swallow,” given Colfax’s current budget challenges. But he agreed with Jones that a study is needed to find options for the city.

“We need some professional advice on which direction to go. Do we throw a coat of paint on it and hope for the best, add some new features or close it down? I hate saying that, but it’s a hard fact we’re faced with.”

Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@jaspercountytribune.com