Pool, finances await finishing touches

Clare Kennedy
Posted: Saturday, May 30, 2009 8:58 pm

By CLARE KENNEDY

ckennedy@owatonna.com

OWATONNA — All that is left are the finishing touches.

As of Friday, River Springs Water Park was 90 percent complete, said Aquatics Supervisor Jessica Lehman. After years of effort, the $3.7 million swimming complex is almost ready for summer swimmers.

On Thursday, construction crews laid down patches of sod on the bare ground and tested geysers in the zero depth area.

On Saturday the water park will host a Grand Opening Ceremony. That day the non-profit steering committee, Pool Together, will turn the pool over to the city.

“We’re very excited about that,” said Monte Mitchell, Pool Together co-chair. “We’re excited to see it built.”

It is sure to be a vindicating moment for the Pool Together co-chairs — and it’s been a long time coming. Mitchell has been working on the project for four years but the idea has been around for decades.

“This is a 60-plus-year endeavor to get an outdoor swimming facility in Owatonna, with multiple attempts,” Mitchell said. “It feels good to be successful and have a community asset that all can participate and share in.”

In the early 2000s, Pool Together began raising funds for the water park’s construction. At times it was an uphill battle. Initially, Pool Together had a hard time even finding a site for the swimming complex. Initially, the committee hoped to erect the pool on a portion of the Leo Rudolph Nature Reserve, a measure that failed when neighbors protested.

“There have been some roadblocks that have been put up over the years and some low points,” Mitchell said. “One in particular I remember quite well was when we met at the Junior High with citizens of the neighborhood surrounding the Leo Rudolph Nature Reserve and were told rather resoundingly that they didn’t want the facility in their backyard.”

The Owatonna Clinic offered 10 acres of land near the 26th Street Clinic, but that, too, fell through.

The project reached a turning point in 2004, when Pool Together approached the Owatonna Foundation. Foundation president Jerry Deetz said the trustees looked at their proposal and voted to support the aquatic center unanimously. The Owatonna Foundation ultimately gave the group $1.3 million for the aquatic center — about a third of the total project cost.

In fall of 2007, the Owatonna City Council threw its support behind the effort when the council agreed to pay $252,000 for a tract of land owned by Festal Farms.

Then in November 2007, the city authorized a $400,000 revolving loan fund to tide Pool Together over during periods when construction costs outpaced incoming donations.

The project seemed to be on a roll again. But in May 2008, fate threw the project another curveball when Festal Farms president Chad Lange revealed he had not signed the purchasing agreement. Instead, he proposed a trade: He would give the 10-acre Aquatic Center site to the city for free in exchange for 27 acres of city-owned land.

With the status of the site in limbo, the city was unable to take legal possession of the land. It appeared that the deal had come to an impasse until the city drafted a lease agreement with an option that would allow the city to start work but give the council some time to think the land swap over.

The groundbreaking went ahead last June and ultimately the city agreed to the swap.

Once construction is complete, Pool Together will still have to wrap up finances on its end. So far, the group has not yet tapped into the loan fund provided by the city. As of Friday, Pool Together has already paid $3.1 million for construction, which leaves $750,000 to be paid over the next few months.

They still have $800,000 in pledges to collect, a process which will continue until 2010, when those who made three-year pledge commitments in 2007 make their last payment.

“In terms of the collection of the funds, we’ve forecasted $50,000 in pledge shrinkage. That’s what that excess is,” Mitchell said.

Last week, Mitchell did a risk analysis of outstanding pledges. A handful of donors have come forward to say they could not meet their commitments, but another 80 are behind.

“These (80 donors) aren’t people who have told us they’re not going to pay,” Mitchell said. “These are people who are behind on their pledge payments. A lot of these we’re assuming we’re not going to get paid because they lost their job and they were doing withholding.”

However, the missing pledges are smaller donations: The average is $300 outstanding. Together they amount to $25,000, about 3 percent of the remaining $800,000.

“We’re still in good shape,” Mitchell said.

In contrast to the individual donors, no donors in the business community have backed out.

“Most of the businesses have paid in full,” Mitchell said. “I know of only one business that is behind and they have said they’re going to pay it. They’re just going to take longer.”

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, it will be up to the city staff to make the water park a success. The fate of the water park hinges on its profit margins. The city council gave their blessing to Pool Together’s effort conditionally: The pool would be to be an enterprise project — completely funded through its own revenue, not tax money.

Clare Kennedy can be reached at 444-2376.