The Guthrie city council voted to reconsider improvements to the municipal pool and proposed water park feature as part of the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) as voted on in an approved sales tax held in February. During the conversation, it was revealed the City is looking at a possible budget shortfall for the next fiscal year.
The council considered an agreement with Myers Engineering for design and construction administration of improvements to the municipal pool inside Highland Park. The cost of the plans was listed as a lump sum of $215,000.
Watch the video on this topic following this article beginning at the 53:25 mark.
The agreement called for professional services from Myers Engineering to begin work on aquatics facilities improvements, including site study and reporting, design, plan preparation, bidding and construction to design and/or refurbish and improve the existing swimming pool, bath house facility and overall site.
“It has come to light, and we didn’t know it then, that we might have a possible budget shortfall,” Councilman Ed Wood said of the project that was discussed in the Aug. 2 meeting. Related article: Council approves Myers Engineering to begin designing municipal pool
“I believe $200,000 for engineering for a pool that possibly would be used three months out of the year and still cost around $3M, I think we need to revisit that. Maybe the CIP money could possibly be used at a better location at the moment,” Wood said.
The engineering cost for the project would be paid by the CIP fund and not from the general government fund. At most, $15,000 of engineering work has been done with a survey of the property and site plan work.
“We still never had a strategic plan. This council never prioritized any of those (CIP) projects,” John Wood said. “That’s one of my problems with it. We (don’t) have a strategic plan that actually outlines what is priority and what’s not.”
Ed Wood suggested the council consider looking at possibly adding an enclosed swimming pool.
“If we are going to spend $200,000 for engineering for close to a $3M swimming pool that’s only going to be open for three months out of the year and rust for 9 (months), why can’t we look at going and doing engineering for an enclosed pool that would be open 12 months of the year that would benefit everybody a lot longer.”
The three-quarter of a cent sales tax approved by the voters has a 15-year sunset clause and is estimated to be a $19 million investment for capital improvements. Related article: Voters say YES for City’s Capital Improvement Plan; Watts elected to stay on BOE
The Vernie Snow Aquatic Center in Kingfisher, an enclosed pool, was built in 1998 and dedicated in July 1999. The price tag was $3M and was paid for by a one-cent sales tax over five years.
Guthrie officials reserved about $2.2M on the complete pool project.
Ultimately, the council voted 6-1 to reconsider the agenda item for further discussion. Mayor Steve Gentling casted the lone no vote.
Possible Budget Shortfall?
Council members Ed Wood and Brian Bothroyd alluded to a possible budget shortfall for the next fiscal year (Oct. 1 – Sept. 30) on several occasions during the discussion of the engineering plans for the pool.
Bothroyd said, “We have a serious budget deficit going on here. The fact of the matter is we have a serious, serious budget deficit and we are throwing out $200 some thousand on an engineering report for a water park? Let’s be real clear, does everybody realize that we are $400-something thousand in the hole?”
City Manager Bruce Johnson interjected to address the possible budget shortfall.
According to Johnson, the City is looking at anywhere from $424 to $450,000 shortfall for the next fiscal year. However, he says he feels secured that they will find a solution.
“Kim (City Clerk Kim Biggs) and I have been working on that in order to figure out what we are going to do to make sure that we don’t have that determinant going into the next fiscal year.”
The city manager said they have $220,000 from a cash balance fund, $100,000 in grants and believes they will find $100,000 in the next several months to balance the upcoming fiscal year budget.
“Kim and I are very secure that we will be able to come up with $100,000 to finish out the fiscal year,” Johnson said.
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