Re: Pool Finances

[Tom Lamar <tlamar@moscow.com>]

I wonder about this need or desire to see "break even" city projects.  Do
our soccer fields "break even"?  How about our baseball/softball fields?
As Dan pointed out, we don't expect our roads to make a profit.  Why does
only the swimming pool come under such questioning?

Tom

>While I agree that "no one promised a profit in the public pool bottom
>line",  I was present when the pool committee made its presentation to the
>city council and again when Tony Johnson, then city councilman, exhorted the
>city council to accept the plan presented by the committee.  Both the pool
>committee and councilman Tony Johnson promised that the pool would not cost
>any additional tax dollars to the people of Moscow.  If my memory serves me,
>Tony Johnson stated that the best thing about the pool design presented to
>the council by the committee was that it would cost no new additional tax
>dollars to operate.  While we were not promised a profit, we were promised a
>break even pool.
>
>
>John
>
>John and Laurie Danahy
>jdanahy@turbonet.com
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Dan Schmidt" <schmidt6@turbonet.com>
>To: <krehbiel@moscow.com>
>Cc: <vision2020@moscow.com>
>Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2000 8:18 AM
>Subject: Re: Pool Finances
>
>
>>
>> With all the press and enthusiasm for the H/L pool in Moscow this summer I
>> would like to offer a word of caution at this point. Public pools do not
>> make a profit. Despite what detractors( J.Wenders) tried to misrepresent
>in
>> the bond election campaign, no one promised a profit in the public pool
>> bottom line. If that were the case I imagine entrepreneurs would have done
>> this project long ago and the admission price would have been alot
>> different. I'll try to quote my statement from memory. Public pools lose
>> money. Outdoor pools lose less since thet are open less time, indoor pools
>> lose more since they have 12 months to run in the red.
>> This is not a gripe about the pool, just an attempt to moderate the
>> expectations. I think the pool was a great investment in this community
>and
>> it's future. It is not a "business" venture and should not be looked at as
>> such. We don't expect our sewer system to make a profit, or our
>> roads....let's keep the pool, a public work, in perspective.
>> Dan J Schmidt, Moscow, IdahoAt 11:55 PM 9/15/00 -0700, you wrote:
>> >When will we see the bottom line $ for the pool's first season?  Seems
>> >like there were several days with a good turnout, but probably too few.
>> >I hope we at least covered the payroll -- since we can't cover the
>> >pool.  Everyone I talked to liked the facility.
>> >
>> >
>>