MARBLE HILL BOARD TO SEEK JUDGEMENT ON POOL ISSUE

MARBLE HILL - The Marble Hill Board of Aldermen and park board are seeking a declaratory judgment in circuit court to determine whether it is legal to use a trust fund earmarked for construction of a swimming pool to also build a city office complex.

Mayor Adrian Shell has refused to sign checks from the trust fund until the city has a legal opinion clarifying what the money can be used for.

The trust was established in 1976 in the will of Larma A. Wisely of St. Louis. She visited Marble Hill, where her brother Frank Pellegrino once owned a factory. He donated land on which the pool is to be built in what is known as Pellegrino Park.

Following her death several years ago, Wisely left half of her estate to the city of Marble Hill to construct the swimming pool. The trust also provides that funds could be used for other improvements in the park or to pay for maintenance of the park after the pool is built.

The money, $650,000, was granted to the city in several installments between 1988 and 1990. By June 1991, with interest, it had grown to $768,863. The park board is designated the trustee of the fund.

There has been some dissension within the city over whether the trust also allowed for the construction of a city office complex adjacent to the pool. The controversy was one reason a petition was circulated two years ago requesting the state auditor to conduct a review of the city's finances. The audit was completed last spring.

Marble Hill City Attorney Gary Kamp decided it was proper to use money from the Wisely Trust for the office complex; however, State Auditor Margaret Kelly strongly disagreed with that opinion in her audit.

Kelly said the city complex, which would include a new city hall, police station and meeting room, isn't "within the intent" of the trust. Using the money for the wrong purpose would subject city officials to lawsuits, the auditor warned.

In her report, Kelly said: "It is very important that the trustees making the decisions realize that the gift she made was made with strings attached. If the money is not spent according to the agreement, the members of the board of trustees really open themselves, potentially, to liability."

A small swimming pool has been built, but was not ready for use this summer. A bath house has not yet been constructed. Some site preparation has been done for the office complex, but there has been no construction on it.

In her report, Kelly said it is apparent the size of the pool was decreased so there would be enough money left for city offices.

Shell is among Marble Hill citizens who believe the trust fund cannot be used to build the office complex. "The pool should have been done by now," said Shell. "I still don't think it was the intent of Larma Wisely to have city offices built with this money.

"But if the declaratory judgment says it is legal and a majority of the park board is for it, then we can proceed with the offices," said Shell.

The mayor stressed he is only following the advice of the state auditor. "I don't want to be held responsible if it's not legal," said Shell.

Shell was elected mayor in April 1992, after the board of aldermen had decided to proceed with the project.

David Beeson, a Jackson attorney, was hired by the park board to seek the declaratory judgment. Shell said he agreed to sign a check from the trust last week to pay for attorney fees, provided the city reimburses the fund from general revenue if the court rules the money cannot be used for city offices.

When the board of aldermen decided to build the office complex, it agreed to have the city rent the offices, with rental proceeds earmarked to pay back the fund. But Shell said the $350 per month the board proposed to pay in rent means it will take 72 years to pay back, not including interest.

So far about $205,000 has been spent from the trust fund for work on the pool, with payments covering everything from the construction and design of the pool to the purchase of books and training courses for lifeguards.

As of Oct. 13, the Wisely Trust had a balance of $631,126, with $349,989 in the city checking account and $281,137 in certificates of deposit.

Shell said that in trying to save money for the city offices the size of the pool was reduced too much. "The pool size is completely insufficient," said Shell. "It should have been deeper and bigger. We have spent about $204,000 on the pool and there is nothing there but a hole in the ground."

Jennings Bond, chairman of the park board, said the board was trying to get the pool finished for the past summer. "Then all this other stuff came up," said Bond. "We decided while waiting on the declaratory judgment that we would continue with the pool project and put the rest on hold, and he put a stop to it.

"The mayor had a meeting with us and said he would not write any more checks out of the trust fund."

Bond said the park board has been trying to meet with the mayor to get his support for finishing the pool by next summer. "We had two meetings scheduled with him and he canceled them both," said Bond.

Shell said he believes consideration should be given to increasing the size of the pool.

Frank Killian, an alderman who opposes the office complex, said he wants clarification about its legality. "The lady left the money there for us and stipulated that it was for the swimming pool and the children of Marble Hill," said Killian. "There was nothing mentioned about a city office complex. If we use it for the municipal complex, there won't be enough left for the pool."

Two other aldermen, Fred Thomas and Mildred Shell, who have supported the city hall complex, declined to discuss the matter.

Beeson said he is preparing the specifics of the declaratory judgment and hopes to have it filed by the end of the year. A ruling may not come for six months to a year, he said.

"I have suggested the park board proceed with the completion of the swimming pool portion of the complex," said Beeson. "Right now it is half completed. I suggested they get the part finished where there is no dispute with the state auditor."

The mayor has also refused to approve payment of a bill for $12,000 to Ron Grojean, a Sikeston architect who was hired in January at a meeting of the park board. That meeting was attended by three aldermen.

Bond explained that the original architect's plans were beyond the budget and Grojean was hired to put the project within budget and develop a plan to build it in phases.

"We hired him in good faith and he did the job for us. We feel like he should be paid," said Bond. "He did what we requested and did it on time."

But Shell said Grojean was never legally hired and that he knew nothing about it until March 19, when he received a bill from the architect.

The three aldermen who attended the January meeting were the late F.X. Peters, Mildred Shell and Thomas. The mayor said he knew nothing of the meeting. "I was not at that meeting; it was never approved by the council and we had no legal contract," said Shell.

Grojean has threatened legal action against the city to collect the money, but the mayor said he has been advised that without a legal contract the city has no responsibility. "I feel sorry for the gentleman, I really do," said the mayor.

As trustees of the Wisely Trust, Bond said he believes the park board should have had the authority to hire an architect for the project. "But apparently, the mayor doesn't think that way," said Bond.