Nelson: proposed aquatic center would lose less money than pool

With the June 5 special election to determine whether Fort Scott's sales tax will be increased to fund the proposed $6.5 million aquatic center just days away, Aquavision Committee co-convener Kale Nelson said there is still false information or "half-truths" spreading around town regarding the new swimming facility.

Nelson said on Wednesday that one of the "half-truths" going around involves the argument that constructing an aquatic center that is not projected to turn a profit doesn't make sense. What doesn't make sense about that argument, Nelson said, is that Fort Scott's current pool loses more money every year than the proposed center is projected to lose.

"The citizens of Fort Scott need to know the whole truth about the economics of the new pool," he said.

According to Fort Scott Director of Finance Susan Brown, the current Fort Scott Municipal Swimming Pool has averaged a net loss of between $60,000 and $65,000 each year over the past 10 years. She said the city pays around $85,000 in operating and maintenance costs each year for the current pool, with the pool's annual revenue totaling around $20,000.

Brown said the current pool, which is more than 70 years old, will continue to lose money each year, with the total loss possibly increasing with time. Because of that, she said, the pool is at a point where it will need to be replaced soon, whether it's with the proposed aquatic center or a different project.

"If the vote doesn't pass on Tuesday, the discussion should continue to be open to do something to replace the current pool," she said.

The projected revenue for the proposed aquatic center, with the indoor facility being open year round, is around $530,000, with operating and maintenance costs projected at around $586,000, for a net loss each year of around $56,000. Those projections include money put away each year for any future maintenance or extra operational costs that may be needed, Nelson said.

"Upon review of these numbers more closely," Nelson said, "it is projected that the City of Fort Scott is gaining over $10,000. These numbers are conservative and do not include many opportunities such as multiple swim meets, aggressive programming opportunities, and more."

Nelson said he is also concerned that there may be residents who still believe the proposed tax increase is a property tax, instead of the actual proposed sales tax increase.

"I am confident that there are people who oppose this who think their property tax will go up," he said. "But this is a sales tax, not a property tax. We purposely did not even broach the topic of a property tax increase because nobody wants that. I wouldn't be for this if it was a property tax increase. We already pay enough property tax."

Nelson also disputes those who say that if the aquatic center is not as successful as expected, the sale tax increase will go beyond 10 years.

"This sales tax will drop in 10 years," he said. "By law, the sales tax will drop in 10 years. It's a drop dead date."

Nelson said he understands and respects any opinions a person may have about the aquatic center, but he encourages people to know the facts before they form an opinion.

"It's totally fine to not want this one-cent sale tax increase," he said, "but when you go around and spread false information or half truths about what the impact of this will be, it's just wrong. It's deception."

As for residents' complaints about an increased sales tax, Nelson said that he understands their concern, but he added that for any improvements to be made to the community, an increased sales tax will have to be considered.

"There are three ways to fund a project like this," he said. "One is a property tax increase, which nobody wants to do. The second is a sales tax hike. The third is private funding. So unless an individual or a group of individuals come forward with the dollars needed, then I don't know how else we could ever do anything. If we want to make any changes, any improvements, somebody is going to have to pay for it."

Nelson said he has also heard residents express the belief that Fort Scott needs to work on other projects before the city tries for a new swimming pool. Those concerns include street repairs, relocating City Hall, cleaning up and improving certain neighborhoods and buildings, such as the downtown area. He added, however, that for anything to get done in Fort Scott, people need to stop just talking about the problems and begin to take action to fix them.

"For eight years, nobody has done anything about approaching these things in a positive manner and working with the city and getting the opinion of everybody in the community about what is needed and work toward a positive goal," he said. "Nobody's done it.

"If you want new streets, then get it done. If you want to clean up (Highway) 54, do something and work toward a goal that is common with the people of Fort Scott. Don't just take a back seat. For the people who say there are other things they want done in the community before we get a new pool, I would (ask) why hasn't anything been done, at least in the eight years I've lived here, to obtain that objective that they want."

Among all those other projects, Nelson said he has also heard for eight years that Fort Scott needs a new swimming pool.

"Now you've got a group of people that have taken the right approach to take care of one of those things, and we've done it," he said. "You've got people that have worked hard for it, you've got people who have gone out on a limb to do one of the things that need improvement in the community.

"However, there are people in the community that complain about nothing getting done and they complain when people like us get together to try to do something to improve the community, that don't want to get out and make improvements. They just want to fight against people who want to make changes."

Nelson said that if the sales tax hike proposal is defeated on Tuesday, he would like those who voted "no" to explain why they did, so that their concerns can be considered should a future new pool project come about.

"If this is defeated, then the people who voted against this need to come forward and they need to say why they voted no," he said. "The reason they do is because if people expect us to come back with another proposal, we need to know what it was about this facility that they didn't agree with."

Nelson said he does think there is a chance the proposal will be defeated on June 5.

"I think there's that possibility," he said. "I think the vote is going to be close. I just hope that the people who are uninformed become informed about the truth before they cast any vote."

For more information about the proposed aquatic center, go to www.fspool.org.