Council discusses plans for Christmas Run Pool

At its regular monthly meeting of the Wooster City Council on Oct. 2, Mayor Bob Breneman led off the meeting by reporting on Woosterfest, the yearly two-day celebration in downtown Wooster that he said was well-attended.

Breneman then briefly summarized the three pieces of legislation on the agenda for the meeting and also said city administration had met with the Wayne Economic Development Council and a group called The Next Move to discuss a housing study for Wayne County.

In old business council took up the issue of amending city bidding procedures and contract requirements. Council member Bob Reynolds said there was discussion about the 3% automatic increase every year. He said the city administration stripped that language from the legislation and has submitted an increase of the bid level from $50,000-$75,000 and that the administration sent out a memo with a list of items that fall within the $50,000-75,000 range.

Council member Scott Myers said he would like to receive the proposed budget earlier to allow more time to review it and to make changes or recommendations. The motion to adopt the ordinance changing these procedures failed to garner the votes it needed to pass.

In new business there was discussion about an ordinance that would authorize the mayor to enter into an agreement with 585 Partners LLC for community reinvestment area tax incentives. Reynolds said he intended to leave the legislation on first reading, adding there are some questions about a 2022 amendment to the CRA. Reynolds also requested a committee meeting in December to talk about those changes. Reynolds said Wooster Growth voted 5-4 against recommending this CRA application for approval.

Also, council took up a first reading of a resolution that related to a contract with OHM Advisors for engineering services related to the Christmas Run Pool. Ashley Hershberger, the city’s recreation manager, explained the need for this legislation. She described the history of the pool and the number of repairs it has needed over the past several years, noting the importance of accessibility to the pool. The city is proposing a zero-depth entry as part of the pool design, as well as emphasizing shade features and green space. Hershberger also said the city intends to gather input from the community for the pool design.

After council member Jen Warden asked about the timeline for completion of the design and construction, Hershberger said the plan is to have the pool open next summer and then have construction begin right after the pool closes next season, with the intent to have the pool closed for only one season. Myers mentioned reaching out to transportation partners to provide transportation to Freedlander Pool while the Christmas Run Pool is under construction. The ordinance passed its first reading.