Winamac’s pool rebuilding effort is not over yet. That’s what Judy Heater and members of the Winamac Pool Committee told local residents during an informational meeting Thursday. “We are still committed just as much or more so than we ever were,” she said. “Our fund-raising efforts will go on. People may not feel quite as forthcoming in donating as they were in the past and I don’t blame them. But maybe if they see that we are moving forward and we can prove our progress, that we can progress forward and not move backwards, then I think it’ll be okay.”
Committee members are now looking into various options, after the town council narrowly decided to pull its financial support of the project last month. Heater, who is a member of the town council, said she understood the reasoning behind her fellow council members’ decision, but she didn’t understand the time line. “I know we can’t afford to run a pool this or next year,” she said. “We don’t have a pool this year and next year. We have two more years left on our plan with the community foundation, and they are graciously handling this money. As their support, they’re handling this for no fees.”
Under the project’s agreement with the Community Foundation of Pulaski County, project organizers have until the end of 2020 to raise funds and build a pool. Heater acknowledged that may be difficult, but she said if a plan is in place and significant progress is made, the community foundation would be likely to work with the pool committee to get the project done.
Courtney Poor, who serves as president of the town’s park board, suggested that one way to alleviate the town council’s concerns would be to raise funds for the pool’s operation first, and fund the actual construction later. “If they get a message that, okay, these folks are going out and this money is going to this permanent fund for the maintenance and that thing can grow to a point where it could be invested and then the interest can be used for that, it might be worthwhile. I don’t know,” he said.
So far, about $150,000 has been raised for pool construction through fundraisers, as well as donations from businesses and individuals. Heater says that money will remain in a fund at the community foundation until the end of 2020, in spite of the town’s decision.
What is less certain is what will happen to the town’s contibutions to the effort. The town has pledged $150,000, but so far hasn’t donated that money to the community foundation. The town had also agreed to donate employee labor to the effort, but Heater was unsure if that offer still stands. In all, she estimates the pool would cost between $500,000 and $600,000.
Ideally, she’d like to see the pool built on the site of the old one, but she said the committee is also considering plans to build a different type of pool elsewhere, if necessary. “There’s a possibility, somewhere down the road, of an entity having an indoor pool year-round, covered, that we could, maybe partner with,” Heater said. “It’s not to the point that we can really talk to these people yet because that’s going to be down the road, if it happens, and that may be what we have to shoot for. If some different entities in the community could partner with this organization and use it in multiple ways, that would be wonderful.”
Several of those in attendance suggested engaging in further discussions with Pulaski Memorial Hospital. Without the town’s official support, the project is no longer eligible for a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. But Heater said other grants may be available by partnering with other organizations.
