MLPS School Board organizes for new year
At the Monday, January 9 reorganizational meeting of the Mountain Lake Public School Board (MLPS), Chad Pedersen was elected as the new Board Chair (Pedersen received four votes, with Doug Standerwick, who had been the chair the past three years, receiving three). Tom Fast was selected as its new Vice-Chair. Julie Brugman was returned by acclamation as Clerk, and Pam Hoek in similar fashion as Treasurer. Remaining Board Members include Doug Standerwick, Tim Swoboda and Matt Gohr.
Chair Pedersen also named 2017 appointments and committee members as follows (* indicates member in a new position):
+ Assistant Treasurer – Julie Brugman.
+ Integration Committee – Pam Hoek and Julie Brugman.
+ Pairing Committee – Doug Standerwick, Chad Pedersen and Tim Swoboda.
+ Negotiations Committee – Julie Brugman, Chad Pedersen and Matt Gohr.
+ Meet & Confer Committee – Chad Pedersen*, Tom Fast and Pam Hoek.
Indoor swimming pool closed after 46 years in operation
After the organizational “bookkeeping” was completed, MLPS School Board Members addressed the decision they had been putting off while looking at all possible angles – the future of the school district’s indoor swimming pool. The decision was made more immediate due to the failure of the swimming pool’s pump system and a drain leak that jeopardized releasing the 120,000 gallons of water in the 50′ x 175′ pool into the cavity below it, at which time it could additionally flood the electrical and boiler areas in that area.
On a 6-1 vote, members approved one of three options presented – permanently closing the pool, effective Tuesday, January 10, 2017. Voting in favor of the motion were Fast, Pedersen, Brugman, Hoek, Standerwick and Gohr, with the lone dissenting vote coming from Swoboda.
Earlier considered was another of the trio of choices – repairing the damaged pump and drain, at an estimated cost of $6,000 to $10,000, to be paid for with donations, with the pool to be permanently closed on July 31, 2017. That motion by Standerwick, seconded by Swoboda, failed by vote. This option was conditional on continued financial support by the City of Mountain Lake. (At the Tuesday, December 20 Mountain Lake City Council meeting, members who attended the Monday, December 19 MLPS School Board meeting summarized the presentation of the indoor swimming pool report and its related discussion. Following that summarization, Mountain Lake City Council members voted to remove $15,000 for the school swimming pool from the line item, restoring the cuts that were made to achieve the 0% levy increase.)
The third option was to repair the damaged pump and drain to be paid with by donations, with no closing date set.
The school district’s 46-year-old indoor swimming pool (part of the 1971 building project, operational in 1972) had been the focus of much anguished discussion and weighing of options as the school board looked at the costs of maintaining the facility, and moving forward with any building bond referendum.
It was back in mid-to-late-November that an $800 collar was replaced on a swimming pool pump. That repair led to complications with the entire pump system, and, following the repair, the pump began to leak. The leak started small and grew. As a result, the pump and the pool were immediately shut down. Water was no longer being circulated through the filter system that was dependent on the pump. In addition, the water for the pool was no longer being heated, but the air in the pool room was.
Fortunately the leak was discovered when staff was in the building, and did not occur over a weekend or holiday. However, later another leak was found under the pool, causing major corrosion and a lot of water leakage.
It was determined at that time that the entire pump system would have to be replaced, and the drain leak repaired, to once again open the pool.
A PVC replacement pump would have cost $5,000 (parts) and $1,000 (labor), for a total cost of $6,000. This pump would have been a “band aid” pump as it would not have been compatible with the pool’s other equipment. This option would have made the pump work, but if there would have been another breakdown in the near future, there would have been no pump that would work with the other parts of the system.
A second choice would have been an exact cast iron replacement at a cost of $7,000 (parts) and $1,000 (labor), for $8,000. This would have been a fit with the rest of the system.
In order to complete the repairs, it would have been necessary to drain the pool, which would have compiled additional costs in the water to refill it and utilities expenses.
A pool report, initially presented at a joint MLPS School Board/Building Committee meeting on Monday, December 12, included a history of the pool, along with the results of the referendum vote at that time concerning that ballot decision. (The decision to build the pool passed by 6 votes 46 years ago). The diving board was removed this fall as regulations on the depth required had changed. That deep end depth of the pool is 9′. Funding for the pool has been through the Community Service Fund and the General Fund, in addition to financial support by the City of Mountain Lake, not to exceed $15,000 per year, and “Friends of the Pool.” Additional revenue was through swimming lesson tuition, swimming fees and gifts.
Over the course of the past 10 years, the school board has made an estimated investment of $750,000 into the pool. The revenue received over that time from all sources, including the City of Mountain Lake and miscellaneous donations, equals about $300,000, with the district funding the estimated remaining $450,000. Pool operational losses have ranged from $45,000 to $50,000 a year.
Ninety percent of the pool usage has been by the community, with 10% school district-related usage. Despite efforts to increase public use of the pool, participation has decreased 34% since 2012.
Future repairs to the pool, resulting from deterioration caused by pool humidity, would have included mechanical, heat, deck, locker room, ventilation, walls, filtration, doors and power, at an estimated cost of $1.6 million. Board members also acknowledged that repairs and updates to the same, at an estimated cost of $280,000 to $390,000, would be required regardless of how the space is used.
The school board believes that funds can be saved and efficient use made of the 5,782 square feet of space occupied by the pool. If that space was to be converted from one large pool into year-round classroom space, it would house academic programs. The Building Committee is currently discussing plans to convert the pool space into three classrooms, three breakout rooms, one office, classroom storage and a hallway.
If the pool had been retained as part of the district programs, board members believe that the cost of renovation ($1,700,000), along with demolition of the 1904 building and the resulting need for additional space for current programs in that building (at a cost of $2,400,000), would cost an estimated $4,100,000.
Results from a December 17, 2012 two-question bond vote possibly foreshadowed the future of the pool, board members recognized. At that time, the question was asked if the district should provide funds for the repair and renovation of the pool, with 73.47% of the 1,157 voters in the district voting against the proposal.
By consensus, board members, on behalf of the school district, stressed their commitment to provide swimming lessons for students at an area swimming pool through Community Education.
In other business
+ Designated United Prairie Bank, Triumph State Bank, Bank of the West and Fulda Area Credit Union as official depositories for the school district.
+ Approved MLPS School Board Treasurer Pam Hoek, MLPS Superintendent Bill Strom and MLPS District Business Manager Kim Naas as signatory powers for short-term investments for the school district.
+ Approved Superintendent Strom, Naas or a designee appointed by the superintendent to perform the routine functions of the MLPS School Board Clerk and MLPS School Board Treasurer for the school district.
+ Approved Superintendent Strom, Naas or a designee appointed by the superintendent to execute leases, purchases and contracts for the school district.