A community pool could be on the horizon as the Waterloo Park District Board recently decided to open the question up to voters in the coming election.

Following a lengthy discussion about various pool particulars, the board voted to place a referendum item on the ballot for the coming April election.

This item, if approved by a simple majority of voters, would allow the park district to borrow $6 million in bonds.

As it was stressed at last Wednesday’s meeting, the passing of the referendum would simply give the park board the authority to borrow these funds rather than mandate they do so. Further research on the design, funding and overall viability of a new pool would then determine whether or not the board would move forward with the project.

The vote passed with three commissioners in approval, namely Curtis Haentzler, Gina Pfund and President Mary Gardner. Vice President Michael Nolte abstained, and commissioner Keith Buettner was absent.

Leading most of the discussion on the pool was Waterloo Citizens for a Pool President Amy Grandcolas, who was joined by Bank of Monroe County Market President Ryan Osterhage and Tom Crabtree, managing director with investment banking firm Stifel.

Grandcolas shared in both a handout and presentation to the board an overview of project costs as well as projected annual earnings expenditures.

The estimated cost for the project includes pool construction at $5,389,000, excavation and landscaping at $161,000 and an 8 percent project contingency fund – for any unforeseen costs or price increases – of $444,000, all totalling to $5,994,000.

Regarding payment for the project overall, the board voted to set the amount of bonds to be borrowed at $6 million rather than an also discussed $5 million or $5.5 million, as the larger figure would ostensibly be more than enough to cover the cost.

“Along the lines of the cost or what we would set the bond at, I am inclined to lean to the top,” Gardner said. “I take this from my school days; we don’t know how long it’ll take, and we don’t know what is foreseeable as far as all the possible contingency costs. So I would ask for what we can, what we think would be the ceiling, and if we come in under, that’s great. That’s a plus.”

Waterloo Alderman Jim Trantham was present at the meeting as well and prompted discussion on the impact this project would have on the tax rate as the bonds are paid back.

It was noted the length of the bond repayment – 15 years or 20 years – would be up to the board.

At 15 years, bond repayment would add $48.65 dollars to the annual tax rate per $100,000 of assessed property value. Spread across 20 years, the bond repayment would add $41 to the annual tax rate.

This nearly $6 million would pay for a substantial pool facility, with Grandcolas listing features including an 8,574 square foot pool, zero entry beach, lazy river, six 25-yard lap lanes, shade structures, underwater benches, concession area, tanning platform, bath house and other water play features.

She noted that this design and the aforementioned features are not set in stone but merely an idea of what a pool could look like with estimates from Westport Pools, a subsidiary of Landmark Aquatic.

“This is an example of, ‘Here’s what $5.4 million can get you,’” Grandcolas said. “It can get you the zero entry. It can get you 8,500 square feet of water surface. It can get you the lazy river, which was the most requested feature in a survey of the community. It gets you the full bathhouse. It gets you all of that. And it gets you the six lanes.”

Beyond the cost of the project, Grandcolas and the board also discussed the annual operating expenses for the pool.

With costs including payroll, chemicals, maintenance, utilities, insurance and other items, an estimate from Westport Pools places annual expenditures at roughly $215,000.

It’s also estimated that 60-70 percent of these costs could be recouped each year through income from season passes, daily admissions, pool rentals for parties and events, swim programs and concessions.

With a remaining annual deficit of about $75,000, Grandcolas and WCP have been working toward an endowment fund for the pool, with the yearly interest earnings meant to be put toward filling that deficit while any surplus is reserved for deferred maintenance costs.

It was also noted these larger maintenance costs – including resurfacing the pool every 10-20 years or replacing equipment – could be further managed through available grants.

Grandcolas said WCP has already seen success as the group pursues the endowment fund, and Osterhage chimed in to express that, with the community and local market, a fund goal of $1.5 million would likely be attainable, with a larger fund being ideal.

“I’d say that’s the bottom level,” Grandcolas said. “That would be the minimum we would look to do on a capital campaign. We have worked closely with some very ardent supporters, and even without the park district moving forward within the last two years, we’ve already collected $120,000, with an additional $45,000 pledged over the next two years from a particular five-year pledge. So we’re close to 10 percent of that already without any type of official launch.”

The matter of the endowment fund received a great amount of attention from the board and others present.

Park District Treasurer Julie Bradley questioned how the fund would be invested to ensure enough income would be earned to handle the annual expense deficit, though Grandcolas, along with Haentzler, noted funds would go toward treasury issued bonds, meaning the interest rate and thus the annual income would be set.

A handout provided by Grandcolas detailed that $75,000 would be the amount available the first year, with the amount growing to $78,500 by year 10 and continuing to $95,800 by year 50.

Nolte questioned who would be in charge of the endowment fund, and it was noted that a board would be set up to manage the fund, with members of the park board potentially also serving as the endowment fund board.

Nolte also raised concerns about the general viability of the endowment fund as well as the ability of the pool to recover 60-70 percent of its annual expenses.

“If the endowment doesn’t come through, if we can’t recover 60-70 percent of the operating expenses, we have a pool that we cannot afford to operate, and that’s the problem we had before,” Nolte said.

It was noted then that the board could effectively set up a fail-safe, making issuance of bonds contingent on the endowment fund reaching $2 million, an amount which Nolte suggested might be necessary to ensure the regular costs of the facility are handled.

Trantham also voiced a concern as he referenced his time on the park board in the 2000s. He recalled how a referendum at that time received a strong negative response as voters were told the pool would need to draw in folks from outside of the community in order to help pay for the facility.

Speaking to what the company conducting a facility study apparently said at the time, Trantham particularly recalled a visual of a bullseye on a map illustrating that individuals from a 25-mile radius would need to be attracted to pay for the cost of the pool – though he added this large audience could have been necessary only for a larger facility.

“That was the biggest negative I heard from anybody,” Trantham said. “Being a board member in the park district, when the referendum was soundly defeated, the number one thing I heard was they didn’t like that project because it was put in their face that, ‘This is where we’re gonna have to draw from to pay for this thing.’”

Grandcolas responded that drawing from such a large area is not something WCP – given their research – has considered actively pursuing, though Gardner chimed in to note that bringing in folks from outside the community could prove to be a benefit for local restaurants and businesses.

Another matter regarding the pool concerned its general management and operation. Grandcolas indicated that, like many other community pools, a Waterloo pool could be operated by an outside group hired by the park district such that the district need not add lifeguards and other workers to its own staff.

She mentioned how WCP had spoken with both Landmark Aquatics and the Monroe County YMCA to discuss such an arrangement as they would both have access to their own network of lifeguards, with the YMCA seemingly being an ideal option given its proximity.

“Our operating costs are actually figured not for the park district to directly manage the operation,” Grandcolas said. “That is figured with using a partner like the Y to manage everything, and they wouldn’t be park district employees that you’d be responsible for. Most municipal pools find that much more effective and efficient to use those companies. For example, right now the Y runs Red Bud’s and Sparta’s pools.”

The discussion taking up most of the December meeting, Waterloo voters will be deciding on the bond matter come April.

In that time, WCP will be seeking to educate voters further on information concerning a potential pool and the bond matter.

Speaking after the meeting, Grandcolas attested to the effort that has gone into the current state of research on the design, operations and payment of a pool, noting how she personally will soon have spent eight years with WCP.

“It’s been a labor of love because myself and all of the current and past board members of WCP love our community and love the idea of bringing this asset to our community and our residents and our neighbors, making this a point of pride for Waterloo,” Grandcolas said.

While future plans for WCP include furthering the capital campaign for the endowment fund and – should the bond referendum pass – serving as a resource for the park district to help communicate with experts, more immediate concerns will be focused on education.

“Our next phase right now is going to be educating the residents of Waterloo about the possibilities and what this bond referendum will mean and how it will impact them,” Grandcolas said. “We know everyone’s first concern is, ‘How will this impact our taxes?’ so we want to make sure that the correct information is shared, and it’s shared far and wide so that all residents are aware of the direct impact when they go to vote for this in April.”

Should the pool ultimately come to be, Grandcolas also noted the possibility of WCP serving as a sort of “Friends of the Pool” organization, accepting donations and otherwise fundraising to assist with the continued management of the facility.

While pool and bond referendum discussion dominated most of the meeting, a few other matters were also addressed by the board, particularly regarding end-of-year honors and recognition of park district employees.

Three district staff members were recognized at the top of the meeting as Joe Mercer, Allen Kern and Roger Stumpf were presented with plaques and thanked by the board for their years of service.

“On behalf of the Waterloo Park Board and community, we thank you guys for your maintenance, keeping the parks welcoming and beautiful,” Gardner said. “You do an awesome job.”

On a similar note, the board at the end of the meeting recognized Park District Superintendent Don Prater for his many years of dedication to the district.

Pfund in particular voiced thanks for Prater, noting how her father previously brought him into the park district. She further thanked Prater for taking on further responsibilities with the addition of the Waterloo Community Splash Pad this year, also – rather tongue-in-cheek – urging him to stick around.

“You are the heart and soul of the Waterloo parks,” Pfund said. “You know every inch of every park, and it’s because of you that our parks are in such great shape and that the residents and the people who come from surrounding communities have such a great experience in our parks.”

Buettner and Nolte were also recognized for their respective nine and five years spent as commissioners on the park board, with both of them soon closing out their time on the board as they are not running for their positions again in the spring election.

Pfund also provided an update on her communications with Rain Drop Products, reporting she was told the long-awaited barn feature would be fabricated by the end of this year with installation to occur before the end of spring.

Also on the splash pad, Park District Attorney Paul Schimpf voiced his thanks to the office of State Sen. Terri Bryant for helping to facilitate the delivery of the final half of the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Bradley reported the remaining $200,000 of the $400,000 grant had been deposited.