Glasgow Aquatics Board Is History

A chapter has closed in the struggle to replace Glasgow’s crumbling swimming pool, but a longtime advocate for a new pool does not think the project is dead.

At a regular meeting on Tuesday, the Glasgow City Council accepted a resolution signed by all eight members of the Glasgow Aquatic Center Advisory Board that dissolves the board.

“It is with some sadness that I ask you to consider Section 3 of this resolution and accept these resignations,” said board member David Irving. “It’s been a long road. I thank you for your support. For some reason I think it’s not quite over.”

They had worked for seven years to bring together the City Council and the Valley County commissioners in some plan to fund a new pool, but could not manage to do it.

In a press release sent to the Courier after the Council meeting, the Aquatic Board said there were no options left to pursue in the building of a new pool.

“The (Valley County Aquatic Board) has tried to get the new pool onto a ballot for the people’s vote; however, it was not allowed to be placed on the ballot on two different occasions. The board has encountered other community building projects that have taken precedence over a new pool therefore, the timing of the pool’s construction has not been ideal,” the release stated.

The board met in December and decided not to continue their efforts.

The board’s resolution asked the City Council to maintain the capital project fund of $87,486 in donations in an account for the construction of a new swimming pool. Irving said the board members who had each donated $1,000 to start up the fundraising did not want their money back. They left it for the next group to use.

The board also asked the Council to reimburse the Glasgow High School Trust Fund the $27,000 it has expended in taxes and insurance on the land near Pamida/Shopko that was to be the site of the pool. The money will come from the capital project fund. Councilman Rod Karst modified the resolution to allow for partial reimbursement this fiscal year, with the remainder to be paid on July 1.

The Aquatic Board thanked everyone who supported the effort to build a new pool.

“It is with a heavy heart that this project be put on the back burner,” they said. “The shape of our current pool is poor, and its days of operation are numbered. It is the hope of the now former VCAB that the pool will not be shut down or someone injured before the city and county work together to build a new pool.”

In other business, the Council voted 4-2 to pay JGA Architects $2,000 for work done toward designs for a new roof on the south side fire hall. Councilmen Dan Durell and Neil Chouinard voted no. Then the Council voted to hire A&E Architects to finalize and approve plans for the roof to be put out for bid. The motion limited the fee to $2,000 and directed Durell to notify A&E of the decision.

The Council had voted to hire JGA in October and their fee would be $19,110. An agreement was approved by Gorton in December, but meanwhile Durell told the Council that the costs were too high and he looked around for someone else to do the job for less.

City Clerk Stacey Amundson was directed by the Council at the Feb. 11 meeting to ask the city’s insurance carrier, MMIA, if the city was liable for the $2,000 that JGA claimed they were owed. She said MMIA could not tell the city whether to pay the money. They recommended following City Attorney Dave Gorton’s memo, which said that JGA might have a case in court.

Councilman Becky Erickson said she felt strongly that the city owed the $2,000, and she made the motion to pay it. “$2,000 is pretty cheap to avoid the aggravation,” said Mayor Dan Carney.

In the public comment part of the agenda, Rae Jean Dowe asked the Council what they are going to do to protect the town from the big disaster that Larry Mires has predicted with the levee issue. Carney said the city has asked Montana’s congressional delegation to make changes in a water resources bill that will help the city fight unrealistic requirements for a buffer zone at the toe of the levee and stave off everyone on the south side having to buy flood insurance.

Police Chief Bruce Barstad was given authorization to restart a search for a new police officer, after a candidate failed the background check.

Ron Watson was appointed as the city’s representative on the Refuse Board.

The Council voted to pay 2013 membership dues of $100 to the Highway 2 Association.

The Council received $2,000 for the Glasgow City-County Library budget from the Theo and Alyce Beck Foundation. They also accepted $1,900 from the Montana Board of Crime Control for the purchase of a radar unit.