PARK BOARD: DECISION NEEDED ON BUBBLE

The city will need to act soon if it plans to replace the Cape Girardeau Central Municipal Swimming Pool bubble, members of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board said Monday.

A replacement bubble over the pool likely will cost about $120,000, said Parks and Recreation Director Dan Muser.

The city administrative staff has tentatively budgeted $65,000 toward the purchase in its proposed five-year capital improvements plan, but park board members said that the balance will have to be funded soon.

Board Chairman Jim Grebing said that without a new bubble, it's questionable whether the pool would remain open next fall. The pool operates year-round, with the bubble erected over the facility during winter months.

"The subsidy for operating Central Pool is about $120,000 annually," said Grebing. "If anyone drags their feet and is against a new bubble, come next October if there's no bubble, that's one area you could save a lot of money by eliminating.

"I think it's pretty clear we agree there needs to be a bubble. We're all in agreement that it's a pretty important asset to the community."

Muser said city administrators are negotiating with representatives of the Cape Girardeau school district to share the cost of the replacement bubble.

He said an agreement between the city and school district when the current bubble was erected about 10 years ago called for the school to pay for its replacement.

"It doesn't appear the school's ready to jump up there and pay for a new bubble," Muser said. "So the city decided it was time the city came up with $50,000 this year and another $15,000 next year to fund about half the price."

Board member Mike Kohlfeld questioned why the school district isn't willing to replace the bubble. He suggested, rhetorically, that enterprise zones established in the city, which provide tax incentives for industries but reduces tax revenue for the district, might be used to justify the district's inaction.

Muser said he didn't know the status of the negotiations between city and school district officials. He said the park board should consider restructuring the fees it charges for use of the pool as one way to fund the replacement.

"Within the framework of the Hancock Amendment, we can increase our fees as long as costs are comparable," Muser said. "We can get them up to the level of the cost of providing services without going to a vote of the people."

But Kohlfeld and other board members said many people who use the Central Pool have indicated they'd be willing to pay more to use the facility.

"People that have contacted me have said they'll pay to use that pool," said Kohlfeld.

Board member Steve Jackson said a majority of people use the pool at no charge during winter months. But he said even if everyone pays for use of the facility, it still wouldn't fund the bubble.

"I don't think fees are going to solve the problem," he said. "We're still going to have to come up with a large chunk of money."

A special pool committee has been formed to further the study the issue and discover possible ways to fund the bubble.

Muser said the replacement bubble would include a special protective coating that has an expected life of at least 20 years.

Jackson said that the bubble would take four to five months for delivery, and when bid procedures are included in the process, a decision will have to be made in "30 to 45 days" to assure a new bubble will be in place by next October.

Muser said the city should make a decision in "the next couple" of months.

"I don't know that I would want to say, `gee, we've got four to six weeks or forget it,'" he said. "If we don't have a decision by October, we'll put the bubble back up."

But city officials have said the bubble already has deteriorated to the extent it might not last another winter.