Livingston Aldermen will explore options to update the city pool following a Monday night discussion.
Livingston Park Supervisor Michael Hayes said the city’s pool and the pool deck are in poor condition. Hayes said the city pool is leaking so much that two water hoses and occasionally a fire hydrant have to be used to keep the pool full. Hayes said it is time to do some maintenance.
“It’s 45 years old, and I don’t know if we have done a lot of maintenance since the pool has been open, but we are definitely due to do some maintenance at the city pool if we want to continue to operate it,” Hayes said.
Mayor Lori Elder Burnett said the city met last week with the UCDD to apply for grants to help pay for pool improvements. Alderman Bruce Elder said the city pool is something the city needs to support.
“It’s a summer activity that so many people can take advantage of, and it complements the ballpark over there, and it goes with everything that is involved with summer fun for children,” Elder said.
Burnett said the city pool needs to be in good condition to provide a place for kids to learn how to swim. Burnett said Hayes had provided some cost estimates for a new pool liner, but she believes the city could do better.
“We are gonna go big, you know, because I think the liner might be something that wouldn’t last nearly as long. We need something long-lasting, I think,” Burnett said.
Hayes said the Kiddie Pool area is unusable at the moment. Livingston Ballpark President Clint Melton gave a suggestion to the aldermen in regards to the Kiddie Pool.
“I think that doing something to help our pool, something to help our kiddie section, bring it back, maybe a splash pad area or something there to invite the kids in and be family friendly right there,” Melton said. “I think that would go a long ways for our city.”
Shade also became a topic of discussion. Hayes said the pool area does need some shade.
“Maybe if we had a couple of pavilions over there,” Hayes said. “We’ve got a lean-off on the side of the building, but you can’t get 15 people under it. I mean, if we had some more shade, that would be great.”
Hayes said he can put together an official plan and present it to the aldermen at a later time. Burnett said if people could write letters of support, the city could submit those with grant applications in hopes of boosting the likelihood of receiving funding.
In other business, a public hearing was held before the meeting regarding the city’s tax rate. No one from the public spoke during the public comment period. The aldermen later approved the tax rate resolution during the meeting.
The aldermen approved two resolutions. One to accept a grant for the Industrial Park Project and one to authorize the mayor to enter into an engineering contract.
The aldermen approved an estimated $18,300 bid to replace the roof on a small building at the water plant.