Closing the city’s outdoor pool and recreation center would help give Clintonville the savings it needs to balance this year’s budget, according to Interim City Administrator Chuck Kell.
Kell this week presented to the finance committee three budget scenarios to address the $176,000 needed to fund the budget without tapping the city’s fund balance. None of the scenarios produced all the savings needed, but the committee voted to recommend Kell’s preferred option to the Common Council.
The plan recommended by Kell would save about $47,000 this year, however, which means the city would still need to move $129,000 from the fund balance.
Without major cuts to the Police Department, closing the pool and recreation center seem to be the city’s best options to generate additional savings, Kell said.
Committee members directed Park and Recreation Director Justin McCuly to form an ad hoc pool committee, to be approved by the council, to study the pool options and present a recommendation to the council by June.
McCuly was also told to gather information on the recreation center, housed in the former armory. The committee wants to know what it would take to keep the building usable, what would it cost to close it and other options.
“We have to start doing something with the pool and the armory or it will keep coming back up again,” Alderman John Wilson said.
Mark Doornink, finance committee chairman, said there are strong feelings on both sides of the debate whether to close the pool and the armory, and he wants data to back up his decision.
“I won’t make a decision until we have data on the pool,” he said.
McCuly has said the pool could probably operate for one more year without major updates, but he won’t know for sure until it opens this year. He is going to be hiring his staff in early April.
Under one budget scenario presented by Kell, the city would reduce the city clerk’s administrative assistant position from full time to 22.5 hours per week, eliminate some park and recreation programs and reduce departmental overtime.
Kell said, however, the clerk’s office needs a full-time administrative assistant and reducing overtime would be difficult because the city is assuming operation of Graceland Cemetery this year.
Under another scenario — the one recommended by the committee, all of the departments would make cuts, bringing the savings to $47,000. The plan included increasing city revenue by implementing a new crop lease and generating logging revenue at the airport. The fire department would reduce its equipment and training budgets.
The third scenario included the other plans’ cuts as well as $72,343 from the Police Department budget, for total savings of $112,343. Department officials indicated that they would lose all of their part-time staff, including the crossing guards and dispatchers, and would not have what they believe to be adequate coverage for the city.
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