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Tuesday, 07 August 2007 |
By WILLIAM LANEY
Managing Editor
A vote by a Wapakoneta City Council member against purchasing the land and pool from Wapakoneta City Schools with a only a handful of local residents in council chambers Monday prompted a second councilor to call the move an act of cowardice.
Councilor-at-large Deb Zwez moved to suspend the rule of three readings on an ordinance authorizing Safety-Service Director Rex Katterheinrich to negotiate and execute a land acquisition agreement with Wapakoneta City Schools for land and structures at the municipal swimming pool — but 2nd Ward Councilor Dave Campbell voted against the motion.
The Ohio Revised Code requires three-quarters of councilors to suspend the rule of three readings, so the motion failed, 5-1, to gain the necessary six votes since Councilor-at-large Wilbur Wells was absent from the meeting.
Zwez voiced her displeasure after the meeting with Campbell’s decision.“He is a coward,” Zwez said. “Mr. Campbell did not attend any of the Ad Hoc Pool Committee meetings, Mr. Campbell did not have the nerve to attend any of the council meetings or special meetings and talk to those people who came and talked in support of this pool — he waited until there was nobody here to disallow this to move forward.”
During a special meeting July 25, councilors unanimously passed an ordinance to authorize Katterheinrich to negotiate a contract with Brandstetter Carroll Inc., a Lexington, Ky.-based architectural and planning firm specializing in aquatic facilities. Campbell was absent from the special meeting.
A couple of members from the public spoke in favor of the pool.
Nearly all of the 30 people attending a special meeting July 24 voiced their support for improvements at the pool. Campbell was not present. Twenty-eight people attended the July 16 council meeting, with most attending to show support for the Ad Hoc Pool Committee and improvements at the pool.
“I think the Ad Hoc Pool Committee has been very clear about what kind of time frame is necessary, and to throw a no vote into that emergency legislation is just an unnecessary, artificial roadblock to this process that is moving forward,” she said. “There is a time line we want to see happen which has been pretty public and pretty transparent. Hopefully, at the next council meeting, there will be enough votes to pass it under the suspension of rules and we can move forward.”
Zwez said she is encouraged by the remaining councilors voting in favor of an ordinance dealing with the pool becoming city property and for the pool to be improved.
She also said she is tired of the playing political games and reiterated the need to move forward with the process.
The ordinance would have permitted Katterheinrich to purchase the pool and adjacent land for $1, with the deed transferring to the city after Labor Day.
Campbell said he believes the process is moving too quickly.
“I am not against the pool, I am against this being done in such a hurry — and after the meeting today, it is in hurry,” Campbell said after the meeting giving a reason for his vote. “There will be some opposition coming up.”
A contract with the Wapakoneta Family YMCA ends March 31 to operate the municipal pool. The city paid the YMCA $20,000 per year to manage and to make improvements at the pool through funds under the direction of the Wapakoneta City Recreation Board.
The municipal pool, built in the late 1930s as Works Program Administration project, is owned by Wapakoneta City Schools.
Fourth Ward Councilor Rachel Barber, who chairs the Parks and Recreation Committee and the Ad Hoc Pool Committee, updated councilors on the Ad Hoc Pool Committee meeting held earlier in the day. Committee members are to meet with representatives of Brandstetter Carroll on Aug. 16 to discuss how those different options “best fit in a sensible and feasible way.”
She said she believes when all councilors are present that the legislation will pass under the suspension of rules.
The next council meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Aug. 20.
“I think it is just important to be positive and to move forward as we have,” Barber said. “If people suggest we are moving too fast, let us consider the fact there has been talk about renovating the pool since 1980. There have been talks with Brandstetter Carroll for more than a quarter of a century.
“I think we are operating with all due diligence,” she said. “We are involving a lot of people and I think the pool will be highly successful when it opens on July the 5th of 2008.” |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 August 2007 )
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