Sheiffer paddles away from new aquatics facility
Podcast Episode
Kyle Geissler talks with Janesville Gazette reporter Ann Fiore about a recommendation on Janesville aquatics facilities.
Reader poll
JANESVILLE — Janesville can’t afford to spend up to $5 million to build a new aquatics facility, City Manager Steve Sheiffer will tell the city council at an aquatics study session next week.
In an interview Monday, Sheiffer said he plans to recommend improvements to Rockport Pool—the city’s 27-year-old pool—rather than constructing a new aquatics facility when the council meets Wednesday, Dec. 12.
“I think what we’ll be focusing on is upgrading Rockport Pool and not building a new facility at Palmer Park,” Sheiffer told The Gazette.
He stressed that his recommendation would not prevent the council from choosing Palmer Park as an aquatics site.
Sheiffer’s aquatics report, which will be released to the council later this week, is the latest development in nearly two years of debate on Janesville’s aquatics facilities.
A resident committee met for more than a year before recommending a $9 million plan that included facilities at Palmer and Rockport parks and splash pads at six other parks, including Riverside Park.
Sheiffer later suggested a project maximum of $5 million, saying the city could fit that much into its debt service without a major tax increase.
But after crunching the numbers, Sheiffer said upgrading Rockport Pool makes the most sense in terms of cost and usage.
-- Cost: The city will spend $937,000 to maintain Rockport over the next 10 years, according to a cost analysis in Sheiffer’s report. Add to that a $178,000 annual subsidy to operate the pool.
“The pool gets older every year. When should we make an investment to lower the subsidy? That’s the question,” Sheiffer said.
-- Usage: City staff studied the time it takes Janesville residents to drive to Rockport and Palmer parks. The conclusion: 40,000 people live within a 10-minute drive of Rockport Park, and 48,000 live within a 10-minute drive of Palmer Park.
“It’s just a marginal difference between the two,” Sheiffer said. “… Rockport Park has an existing pool, and it’s in the correct location.”
The report recommends no changes at Palmer Park wading pool or Lions Beach.
Sheiffer said his spending recommendation doesn’t mean the aquatics committee wasted its time.
The committee’s discussion revealed the need for the time-distance study and cost analyses, information the city didn’t have last spring, he said.
That discussion also prompted many residents to weigh in with their comments. Users of the pet exercise area in Palmer Park have been especially vocal about preserving the park as it is.
The resident committee offered a long-term plan for aquatics, Sheiffer said.
“They were instrumental in bringing the subject to the forefront. We wouldn’t be in this discussion if the committee had not provided leadership.”
The council study session is open to the public, but no public comments will be taken. A public hearing on aquatics likely will be held in January, Sheiffer said.
IF YOU GO
The Janesville City Council will hold a study session on aquatics and landlord licensing at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, in the council chambers at City Hall, 18 N. Jackson St. The meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast on JATV Channel 12, the city’s public-access television station. The public will not be able to offer comments, however.
Dec 5, 2007 at 7:03 p.m.
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sfcm:
thanks -- i didn't want to be too much of a wiseguy in linking to the wizard of oz. his quote, "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" seemed appropriate. we will be holding an event at the dog park sometime next tuesday the 11th. it'll be around noon -- if anyone is interested in coming out to show support for the dog park, or to say no the aquatic center, email me at savethedogpark@charter.net
Dec 5, 2007 at 9 a.m.
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booch--that link was very fitting! And I'm glad that you reminded people that it's not up to Sheiffer--we all need to contact our city council members to voice our city's lack of support for such a venue. And for those of us who definitely do not want an aquatics facility at Palmer Park, go to www.savethedogpark.com and sign the petition that will be forwarded to city council and Sheiffer. Even people who don't have dogs are signing it because they oppose its placement in Palmer Park.
Dec 4, 2007 at 11:06 p.m.
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please remember, Steve Sheiffer is our city manager. He cannot vote on this measure. Only city council members can vote. And several of them have planned this effort and several fully supports its implementation - http://new.wavlist.com/movies/107/woz-cu...
Dec 4, 2007 at 9:10 p.m.
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I'd love to see them reopen Riverside wadding pool. I'd drive across town again to get away from the crowds at Palmer. Bringing families back to Riverside would cut down on the problems there too.
Dec 4, 2007 at 6:34 p.m.
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I totally agree with our city manager on dropping this. The city of Janesville just cannot afford something like this, especially with this economy. I do wish that he would recommend fixing Riverside's wading pool and lions beach though. I remember when I was a kid, Lion's beach was the place to go. Clean clear water and tons of fun. You would have to pay me to swim there now and I would still go kicking and screaming, it's nasty! Just look at how much of the summer it was closed due to high bacteria levels.
Dec 4, 2007 at 1:06 p.m.
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I agree with Dan. I think Lions beach should be renovated in the process too! Yes, A few water slides in there would be nice and make it more attractive. The Lions beach bath house is a buetiful structure in need of some TLC. It would be a crown jewel of both old and new amenities if done correctly. And, Yes, Renovate Rockport pool as well!
Dec 4, 2007 at 12:25 p.m.
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I'm glad the city was thinking big for once. Janesville often seems afraid of change and imagination. The trial balloon went up, and people didn't want it, so on to something else. But we still have to replace the pool eventually, and as the Y renovation showed water recreation has changed a lot since the 1970s. Maybe we could bring back Lions Beach with a water slide or two instead, and I hope the great idea for neighborhood splash pads doesn't get forgotten in the shuffle.
Dec 4, 2007 at 12:08 p.m.
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I think Sheiffer finally got sick of all the bad press he was getting. Look at the poll up at the top. Very few people really want this.
Dec 4, 2007 at 11:58 a.m.
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I was all for the aquatic center until it was decided it would be at Palmer Park! Therefore, I'm glad the decision has been made to drop it.
Dec 4, 2007 at 11:14 a.m.
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I agree with the city manager's recommendation
Dec 4, 2007 at 11 a.m.
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Hooray! I love Rockport Pool, it's location, and the beautiful park surrounding it. I was there the day it opened, rode my bike there every day in the summer, and I worked there as a teenager and college student. Now as an adult I enjoy lap swimming there several times a week in the summer. Since the Y took away its regulation size pool, it will be the only place I swim this next summer.
Please keep this pool operating and don't just throw it wawy and start over.
Dec 4, 2007 at 10:40 a.m.
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Thank you city manager for making an informed recommendation! Let's hope the council takes it into consideration!
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