After a long conversation about the benefits and costs of building a new outdoor pool, the Presque Isle City Council has turned instead to the idea of having a less expensive splash park.
Coming closer to approving next year’s budget, the council passed a motion at its Dec. 7 meeting authorizing the city to borrow $7.5 million in debt for the community center and other public projects.
Councillors have long been mulling over the exact amount to take out in debt, to wrap the community center’s costs into debt for other investments, and they’ve been struggling to decide whether to replace the recently-closed outdoor pool, construct a splash pad area and/or renovate certain buildings and borrow upwards to $10 million in the process — bringing with it a property tax increase as high as 1.9 mills, to more than $27 per $1,000.
The outdoor pool would cost an estimated $1.5 million, and would have added about $30 to the average annual property tax bill for a $100,000 home, noted councilor Michael Chasse.
By deciding not to build a pool now and only borrow $7.5 million, the council has effectively limited next year’s tax increase to 1.5 mills at the higher end and likely lower, but also left open the opportunity to build a splash pad.
“I do think that we are reaching the breaking point as for what the local community will take,” said councilor Richard Engels, referring to property taxes.
Part of the trouble with the pool is that the $1.5 million estimate is of unknown accuracy, said council chair Emily Smith.
Nickerson & O’Day, the construction company building the community center, is willing to “look into it and give us a guaranteed maximum price,” said Chasse. “But I’m still on the fence as to whether it makes sense to spend that kind of money on the pool,” he said, before the vote. “Is it worth it?” he asked. “It’s just so much money.”
“If we’re going to spend upwards of $3 million,” said councilor Leigh Smith, “are we better off putting that in the Forum, which gets year-round use, or a building like that?”
Craig Green, the council member spearheading the splash pad and pledging $10,000 of his money to its cost, said the splash pad is both less expensive and more seasonally versatile than a pool.
“We were there on a day when it was cool out,” he said of the splash park in Moncton, New Brunswick. “The temperature was in the low 60s, and there were people there.” Green also noted that along with the University of Maine Presque Isle’s Gentile Hall pool, the Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center has a recently-renovated indoor pool.
Also representing that sentiment was Clinton Deschene, assistant superintendent at School Administrative District 1. I think we have a nice indoor pool at UMPI that we can share and use,” he said in comments to the council. “I think the splash pad is something that has great value and much lower cost at this time and might even be a bit of an attraction regionally.”
“A lot of communities around us have stopped using the pool,” said city manager Martin Puckett. “It’s because of the cost, it’s a staffing issue, it’s the season.” Some towns and cities have also embraced their water bodies, with town beaches and parks along ponds, lakes and rivers.
With the $7.5 million approved for bonding, instead of a higher amount that would have paid for a pool, tax increases for next year are hovering around 1.5 mills, although Puckett and other city staff are working to shave off costs for next year in a number of areas, and there are options the council could choose. Putting off repaving of the Lathrop Road, for instance, would save about $100,000.
The city council’s budget discussions continue on Monday, Dec. 14, 2015.
