Future of Superior pool in question
<p>The community swimming pool in Superior has been seeing less users over the last few years and less revenue to cover operating costs.</p>
SUPERIOR – Some residents in Superior are calling for the community swimming pool to be closed down permanently because they say the pool has been losing money and clientele for years.
The issue was brought up at the last Superior City Council meeting and then again in front of an informal “friends of the pool” committee to examine the future of the facility. The newly formed committee was created to explore ways to make the pool more financially solvent and increase traffic.
Supporters of the pool say the facility is a benefit to the community, providing swimming lessons to kids and a draw for people potentially moving to the area. They also said the pool was never meant to turn a profit and would likely never make money.
On the other side of the debate are residents who say the facility is a drain on taxpayers and has seen a significant reduction in usage over the years. One such resident spoke to the mayor of Superior and the city council about his concerns.
Superior resident Burr Hughes told the council he thought the pool should be closed to reduce the financial burden on the community.
“This year the total net loss of the swimming pool was $35, 931. 68,” Hughes said. “For the last six years, that brings the total (loss) to $184,981. 35. The pool loses anywhere from 5,000 to 50,000 gallons of water a day. I’m not against having a swimming pool. I just think this is a terrible expenditure on the taxpayers.”
The loss of water is due to a crack in the pool’s concrete basin. Hughes’ point to the council was if the pool is consistently losing water that has to be replaced daily at a cost to taxpayers and is seeing ever fewer users over the years, the pool is likely to continue to be financially unviable.
“I truly believe the town of Superior is literally draining away money,” Hughes said. “This money could go to a better use.”
According to the pool’s own newsletter, the cost of operating the facility in the last fiscal year was $712.27 per day. Revenues generated during the last season covered 14 percent of the operating expenses, a three percent decrease from the last season, with the difference between revenues and expenses paid by Superior resident property taxes.
The newsletter further states, pool usage was down 32 percent this year. In 2013, pool usage dropped 28 percent from the previous year. Supporters and members of the friends of the pool committee said they were aware of the issues surrounding the facility, but they hoped a solution could be found that would keep the pool operating for at least a few more years.
Committee member and city council member Denyse Traeder said she thought the pool deserved a place in the community despite its financial shortcomings.
“We are looking at raising the prices of swimming lessons and possibly making it a municipal pool so the cost will be shared,” Traeder said. “That would make it more fair and even out the cost. It really is a draw for people coming here. People who may be coming here want to know there are things in the community like the pool.”