A3
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Bookmobile sidelined by changing times
Projected pool costs stun councilors
Operation and
maintenance costs
may drive final
decision
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Operation and mainte-
nance costs for an indoor
swimming
pool
could
exceed the financial capabil-
ities of every public agency
in Grant County except the
county and the hospital.
John Day City Manager
Nick Green presented those
hard facts to the city coun-
cil on Dec. 11. He cited the
Madras Aquatic Center as
a case in point — annual
operations and maintenance
there cost $1.5 million.
The city plans to close the
Gleason Pool after the 2020
season and sell the land to
the state for development of
the Kam Wah Chung State
Heritage Site.
The reasoning includes
three key elements: The
Gleason Pool is 60 years old
and expensive to maintain;
the state will pay the city $1
million for the land, a wind-
fall that can be used to build
another pool facility; and
the state will use the land to
build an interpretative cen-
ter that will significantly
contribute to the economic
development of the John
Day area.
“We recognize it is not
popular to talk about clos-
ing a pool,” Green said.
“Many residents have con-
tacted city councilors and
staff to express their inter-
est in maintaining a pool in
Grant County.”
The current pool-operat-
ing contract with the John
Day-Canyon City Parks
& Recreation District ter-
minates at the end of the
2020 season. According to
Green, the district has oper-
ated at a loss each year,
spending $47,710 last year
on labor, operations and
maintenance and receiv-
ing $23,886 in revenue. The
pool lost $2,500 per week
in its 10 1/2-week season,
Green said.
“The city does not have
a tax base to operate a pool
and could not create a reve-
nue stream within our exist-
ing budget large enough to
continue its operations,”
Green said.
To investigate its options,
the city hired consultants
Counsil Hunsaker, Walker
Macy and Opsis Architec-
ture, but the results have not
been straightforward.
“It has been incredibly
challenging to find the opti-
mal balance between our
consultant’s projected costs
(both capital and opera-
tions) and our anticipated
program revenue,” Green
said.
At the high end, an
indoor competition pool
with a recreation pool
attached, along with recre-
ation amenities, could cost
$15 million to build and
$800,000 to $900,000 per
year to operate and main-
tain. A scaled-down indoor
pool could cost $9.7 million
to build and $500,000 to
$600,000 annually to oper-
ate and maintain.
Costs come down dra-
matically for an outdoor
pool. At the high end, a
competition pool with a
3,152-square-foot recreation
pool attached could cost
$7.2 million to build. An
outdoor pool slightly larger
than the Gleason Pool could
cost $4.3 million to build.
Operation and mainte-
nance costs for an outdoor
pool depend on the length
of the season — an extended
season drives up costs for
heating and labor. With
insurance and other bene-
fits, five full-time employees
can cost $300,000 over a full
year, Green said.
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Another option under
consideration is combining
a baseline outdoor pool with
an indoor recreation facil-
ity that could include a gym-
nasium with two basketball
courts, exercise amenities
and a playground. That plan
could cost $9 million to $10
million to build, which is
close to the cost of the hos-
pital bond that will end in
2020, Green noted.
A steering committee
has been involved in every
aspect of planning since the
beginning, Green said. The
committee includes repre-
sentatives from the city of
John Day, Grant County
Court, John Day-Canyon
City Parks & Recreation
District, Blue Mountain
Hospital District and Grant
School District 3.
“John Day is funding the
facility study and has spent
$16,575 on consulting fees
to date, but we do not intend
to build or operate the new
pool,” Green said.
The city’s goal is to estab-
lish a county-wide agency to
design, build, finance, oper-
ate and maintain the facility.
A memorandum of under-
standing between the five
agencies represented by the
steering committee has been
drafted and is undergoing
review by attorneys.
He said he has asked the
participating public agencies
to provide their staff with
annual memberships to help
establish a revenue stream to
whichever facility is built.
Green noted that “if there
is to be a pool and recreation
center in Grant County after
2020, it will be because the
voters approved it and we
have a representative pub-
lic body to oversee its
operations.”
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Falling school popula-
tions and changes in read-
ing technology are hav-
ing an impact on use of
the Grant County Library’s
bookmobile.
Following a recommen-
dation from Library Direc-
tor Vicki Bond and the
library advisory board, the
Grant County Court agreed
Nov. 28 to suspend book-
mobile use from Nov. 30
through May 2019.
The court agreed to take
a second look at the book-
mobile program in June and
possibly sell the vehicle.
In the past, the bookmo-
bile traveled every Wednes-
day from the main library
in John Day to either Prai-
rie City, Dayville, Seneca
or Monument/Long Creek,
on a rotating schedule from
October through May.
The main stop in each
community was the local
school. No service was
scheduled
during
the
Christmas and spring
breaks, but extra trips were
scheduled on Mondays
in the two weeks before
Christmas break.
School
populations,
however, are about a quar-
ter less than they were
30 years ago, Bond told
the Eagle. On top of that,
schoolchildren now can
read books on comput-
ers, laptops, tablets and
smartphones.
There are several ways
schools can request books,
Bond told the schools in a
Dec. 3 email.
“Call us anytime and
we will mail directly to
the schools,” she wrote.
“You can also order with
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Grant County Library
Director Vicki Bond with
the sidelined bookmobile
in its garage on Dec. 6.
your library card and you
have 17 different librar-
ies to choose from. The
books will arrive in John
Day, so we can either mail
to the schools or there are
patrons that drive daily to
the schools.”
Students and adults with
a library card and access
to the internet can order an
eBook. The county pays
about $12,000 per year to
provide its patrons access
to 17 libraries in the Sage
Library System.
Bond said patrons can
choose from more than
10,000 eBook titles, rang-
ing from academic works
to reading for pleasure.
Mailing printed books from
John Day to the rural com-
munities costs about $2 to
$3, which beats the $150
to $200 spent each month
on fuel for the bookmobile,
she said.
In her email to the
schools, Bond cited falling
bookmobile checkout fig-
ures, weather conditions
and rising fuel and mainte-
nance costs for the library’s
recommendation. She said
she needs to hear back from
schools by March when
the county budget process
begins.
Library board mem-
ber Kathy Smith provided
more details in a Nov. 19
email to the county court.
“Winter travel can be
dangerous going over
mountain passes because
you can’t put chains on the
bookmobile,” Smith said.
“When roads are bad, the
bookmobile trip has been
canceled.”
The vehicle has low
clearance and is weighed
down by all the books it
carries. She also noted that
exhaust fumes have leaked
into the cab when the book-
mobile traveled uphill, caus-
ing headaches and nausea.
The current bookmobile
has been in use in Grant
County since June 2012,
when it replaced a modi-
fied 1970s-era Chevrolet
that had been used for 40
years. The earlier bookmo-
bile threw a rod on High-
way 395 near Fox, and the
county court opted not to
spend $3,000 to $4,000 to
replace the engine.
Library staff found a
used bookmobile for sale
online for $18,500, and
Bond picked up the vehi-
cle from the Troy-Miami
County Library in Ohio.
The vehicle featured a die-
sel engine and shelf space
for 2,000 books.
Funding for the replace-
ment vehicle came from a
special fund earmarked for
bookmobile purchases and
repairs. The fund was cre-
ated with an anonymous
$10,000 donation in the
late 1980s. By 2012, the
fund had grown to $36,000
from general fund trans-
fers, Bond said.
For m ore inform ation or to place an ad
please call Kim Kell at 541-575-0710
Office w ill be
closed D ec. 24th
and 25th
95984
Jesus is the light that meets
your darkness.
“I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will
never walk in darkness, but
will have the light of life.”
- John 8:12
God gives hope this
Christmas season!
Love,
Andy, Mitsie, Bethany, Drew,
Rich and Cindy
Blue Mountain Eagle
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Merry Christmas
and a
Happy
New
Year!
541-932-4428
Blue Mountain Eagle
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