Tuesday, February 02, 1999
Silverton can't afford to open pool
Last year, Lindner gift paid the way
BY ALLEN HOWARD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SILVERTON — Unless another benefactor steps forward, the Silverton pool will not be open this year.
Last year, financier Carl H. Lindner Jr., who once lived in the village, gave a $40,000 gift to open the pool after budget cuts left the city short.
This year, though Silverton is working its way out of its budget problems and may show a $75,000 surplus the end of the fiscal year, opening the pool would cost $65,911, said Councilman Nasse Chachoff, chairman of the parks and recreation committee.
“I think it might be poor fiscal management on our part to try to open the pool this year,” Mr. Chachoff said.
He said a public meeting is set for 7 p.m. Feb. 10 at the municipal building, 6860 Plainfield Road, to get comments from residents.
Mr. Chachoff said major renovation, equipment and operating cost make opening the pool almost impossible. He estimates the costs at about $24,661. Tagged on to that would be a management cost of $41,250.
The $40,000 the city received from Mr. Lindner last year was used to pay the Blue Ash YMCA to manage the pool and conduct a summer camp in Silverton Park, where the pool is located.
Mr. Chachoff had planned an early campaign this year to sell enough memberships and season passes to support opening the pool. But the projected revenue would be only about $23,158, leaving the city with a $42,753 deficit.
“I don't think spending the money on the pool will be a wise investment of taxpayers' money when there are other areas in recreation where we can use the money,” Mr. Chachoff said.
He said he will recommend council instead convert a baseball diamond to a soccer field, repair bleachers, reseed areas, and repair horseshoe pits and tennis courts.
Silverton is still under a fiscal watch imposed by the Ohio Auditor's Office in 1997 after the city had problems making payroll.
Council slashed $350,000 from its 1998 budget, passed last March, which included across-the-board cuts and charging for ambulance runs.
“With the cuts, it appears that we will end the fiscal year with a surplus close to $75,000,” Clerk of Council Mark Quarry said.
While the pool remains a major issue, Finance Committee Chairman Michael Hagen also thinks other park improvements may take priority.
“We need to hear from the public on this,” Mr. Hagen said. “If the decision is to open the pool, we would have to make some severe budget adjustments. It is the city's responsibility to decide what to do with the pool based on our revenue and not depend on outside help.”
Resident Dottie Schwartz said she would hate to see the pool sitting empty. “But we have to face the facts,” she said. “If we don't have the funds, we might as well bulldoze it.”
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