Blackfoot pool discussion continues at public meeting
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Paul Beam, KPVI
BLACKFOOT — A $5 million bond to renovate the Blackfoot Swimming Pool failed to pass twice in the last year, but the city of Blackfoot isn’t giving up efforts to repair the pool.
The mayor and city council held a public meeting Thursday night to get feedback from the community.
Officials say the Blackfoot pool has some glaring problems, from a damaged roof that constantly leaks, to internal problems with filtration.
“People in general didn’t feel that they really understood the condition of the pool and what the $5 million was really for,” Mayor Marc Carroll said after the meeting.
The budget for the pool is $427,000 a year, and the pool only brings in $158,000 in revenue. That budget, in the past, has been used to repair problems as they happen, but it does not afford any preventative maintenance.
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A new roof alone would cost around $500,000. So while small things are being done to keep the pool open like repairing fasteners and lights that are connected to the ceiling, there isn’t the money for a full remodel.
But the pool itself is a fixture in the community.
“I talk to women every day that want to do everything they can to keep the pool open. We need to educate everybody because there are a lot of different things that float around out in the community that aren’t true and we need to make sure everyone knows the facts,” swim coordinator Kathy Fisher said.
A definitive answer wasn’t reached at the meeting on how to solve the problem, but it did serve to education residents about the problems facing the pool.
“We had about 25 people sign a sheet declaring themselves as friends of the pool and their willingness to go out and educate the rest of the community on the current condition of the pool and why the $5 million was needed,” Carroll said.
The city wants to hold another meeting within the next two weeks to discuss how to move forward.
This article was originally published by KPVI. It is used here with permission.