April 20, 2011
04/21/11 The Plymouth School administrators and board members announced that the pool at Plymouth High School will stay operational for one last year. During a board meeting on April 19, Leanne Senter shared her feelings that the community needs a pool. She said, “This is a worthwhile cause.” Senter has been an integral part of water safety programs and competitive sports for many years.
School administrators have been concerned with the condition of the pool for the last several years. Efforts to reline the pool along with other repairs have extended the life of the facility, but it is now clear that the pool requires too much repair to continue to be vital.
Senter outlined a number of community groups such as the Red Cross and life guard training to Plymouth School students using it for a variety of reasons. After the meeting, Senter said, “I’m pleased that we have it for another year. I’m an optimist by nature and I think we can come up with a plan.” She is hoping to hold fundraisers to get the project started after design plans and costs can be obtained.
The plan being considered by a number of community partners is combined community pool that could be used by the school and local residents. During the board meeting, board member Larry Pinkerton indicated that the 2.5 million cost to repair the current pool at PHS is not feasible. Also speaking for the board, Todd Samuelson said, “The legislation has changed. We are under a fixed amount of money.” “ We have to make choices between that (pool) and curriculum.” he added, “I don’t want people to think we’re getting rid of a headache and putting it off on someone else.”
Samuelson too seems to be in favor of a community effort to build a new pool. He said, “Out of chaos comes opportunity sometimes.”
The schools have had architects look at the pool area at PHS to ascertain what, if anything, could be done.
Carol Anders Correspondent