I would like to hear from you in regard to the pool opening this summer. Please tell me your thoughts by sending me a message at kschilling@ci.monona.wi.us. You can also comment on my Facebook page. A survey has been released but there isn't much time to take it as we vote on this issue on Monday night. The survey takes 1 minute. I would like to hear from residents prior to Monday at noon if possible.
Please be sure to read the full list of modifications that would need to be made and review the financial implications of opening late with all of these modifications BEFORE you take the survey. A couple of them include wearing a mask at all times when you are not in the water, the bathrooms/locker rooms have to be cleaned between every use, and no deck chairs will be present. The full list of modifications can be viewed here.
We would have to transfer $40,000 from the general fund to cover the budget overage but more may be required. That is TBD.
You'll see that it's being considered that the pool open on July 1, that the fees be increased to $5/resident and $10/non-resident to make up for lost revenue due to reduced admission to 126 people at a time. There will be people who don't feel it's safe and we'll likely see a drop in participation numbers there. The budget shows $81,000 projected revenue but that seems like a reach considering our Covid-19 cases are spiking again right now and many people will likely not feel safe in a pool with 125 others.
I have called some other area pools to find out what they are doing and this is what I've found:
• Sun Prairie pool - closed for 2020
• Belleville pool - closed for 2020
• Goodman Pool - still deciding
• Fitchburg Splash Pad - closed for 2020
If you know the status of Middleton or Oregon, please let me know!
My kids and I LOVE going to the pool. But, we are really going to be in a tough spot when it comes to budgeting for 2021. Most cities are reporting budget shortfalls of 30-45%. I have concerns about opening the pool because the 'TBD' number mentioned above is a big unknown as we don't know what the future holds. We will definitely miss not going but I don't feel like it's a responsible use of tax dollars nor is it the safe decision at this time. I feel that we should be preparing for the shortfall we'll be seeing in 2021 and should be focusing on necessities, not wants for now. What do you think?
TAKE SURVEY: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GL5LKXR?fbclid=IwAR2Lm8TOndOO9CdyQ5R_ijLy6L9P867ZKmpxgyIPWNP9Pv9jwr_gsuucSDk
You can find the details on the agenda here. I have included a screenshot of the Parks & Rec director's analysis and the proposed budget below. https://mymonona.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05282020-1712
