The 2011-2012 school year has started. It is September 8 and the community pool has gone another summer without being opened. What makes this September 8 different from last September 8, though, is that there has been action taken.
In July at a very well attended open meeting, local attorney Mike Welsh made a proposal to the Le Roy Village Board to fix the pool with donations (thank you to the Giambrones) and volunteer labor. The village board in turn voted 4-1 to rescind the previous official closing of the pool and then in another vote of 4-1 made the pool and its buildings surplus, freeing them to be sold to an entity for one dollar and pledging $11,000 per year to maintain the pool.
The problem is that there has not been an entity willing to buy the pool, nor was there one at the time of the vote. A petition was also presented to the board by a concerned citizen signed by concerned citizens who pledged to fund raise and keep the pool going. In addition, the village board voted to create a pool committee to explore all of the options and try to get some answers to questions that have been asked. To date this committee has not been formed, perhaps because of the potential outlined below.
The last word that I have received indicates that the same group of concerned citizens who has been working with Mike Welsh will present an option to the Le Roy Town Council this evening. It involves the town taking over the pool with the support of the proposal made to the village board and the money the village board has pledged.
This is, of course, one of the options suggested in comments to my previous blog about the pool.
As I promised during the same discussion, I have found out more information about a referendum. The village could attach a referendum to the March 2012 public vote for little cost, whereas if we were to hold a separate referendum it would cost us about $20,000. Yes, there are town and county elections in November, but as they are not village elections, the village would have to pay to hold a referendum.
The problem is that March is a little too late to get it open for next summer. Also, I learned that a referendum is NOT binding, though it would show what the voting public wants.
I am writing today’s blog to update everyone who is interested in the pool. The Le Roy Town Council meeting takes place tonight at 7 (Thursday, Sept. 8). The pool is not a dead issue, unless you want it to be. I hope to see you there.
Jennifer Thank you! As
Jennifer Thank you! As always you keep us up to date on meetings and happenings. I would sadly like to say I was unable to attend the Town Council meeting. I wish I would have been able to however. As I heard after the fact one board member was clearly against it at the meeting. Not surprisingly it was the one who had the view that in those low attendance numbers were the lower class - majority being the ROYAL APARTMENTS. Well many of us are now check to check and would classify ourselves there. I really wish I would have been there to call her out on her views. I did not mention her name , but since it is election year for her- Could you please all before voting ask Kelly Lathan what her specific views and reasons are for not wanting our pool open.