Pool will remain closed indefinitely

By TOM STANKARD

[email protected]

Ironwood - Snowflake Aquatics, a nonprofit organization that operated the pool inside Gogebic Community College's Lindquist Student Center, has announced it will no longer pursue lease options for the pool.

SA officials told the Daily Globe and GCC last week they "hoped the proposed terms would be accepted so the pool would remain open for the Barracuda Swim Team, fitness swimmers, swim lessons, water aerobics, kayak lessons and other uses, but Snowflake Aquatics will no longer be pursuing lease options."

In September, the college board of trustees acted to close the pool. It wasn't the first time the college closed the pool. In 2003, the board closed it, then Snowflake Aquatics was formed to help raise money and the pool reopened.

It cost the college around $70,000 per year to operate the pool, GCC President Jim Lorenson said. He said the cost was offset by an average of $17,600 in user fees and donations from SA.

Lorenson said there was a $300,000 estimate to repair the pool, which included replacing the mechanical systems and surface work.

When deciding to close the pool in September, Lorenson said there was also the factor that the student body doesn't use the pool much. According to student surveys, student use of the pool dropped to less than 1 percent.

He said the college's focus is its students and the college was spending a fair amount of resources on something that was not serving students' needs.

The college board was authorized to negotiate a lease with Snowflake Aquatics for $1 per year with four parameters.

Lorenson said the first parameter was there would be a reasonable termination clause, or an "out."

The second required insurance be provided by SA.

The third parameter was there would be no cost to the college.

The fourth was the facility would be available for students.

A month later, a Snowflake Aquatics representative attended a board meeting and asked questions about leasing the pool. The board directed her to college staff and then the college responded to the questions.

On Dec. 9, Lorenson said the college received an email from Snowflake Aquatics. In the email, SA said it had been "preparing feasible terms for a lease."

Looking at the lease proposal, Lorenson said there were a couple terms the board and he agreed with, others that they didn't and needed further clarification, some that needed to be added and some that were not consistent with where the board wanted to go.

According to the SA proposal, the lease would be one year, with an automatic renewal for five years, unless conditions of the lease were not met, or Snowflake Aquatics declined to renew.

The college would carry and provide insurance. The college would pay for utility services to the Lindquist Student Center, including the leased space. SA would set admission prices and programming and GCC students would not be exempt from pool use fees.

GCC responded, saying it would require a provision in the lease allowing for GCC or Snowflake Aquatics to terminate the lease at any time with reasonable notice. SA would be required to pay all utility costs related to swimming pool operation and required to carry its own liability insurance and hold GCC harmless from any and all claims.

Moving forward, Lorenson said the college is conducting a feasibility study with an independent third party to look at other options for the pool space. One option is converting it into a facility that "students would use more and for program purposes.

"We often hear that (they want) some sort of fitness or wellness center," he said.

Depending on the facility's design, Lorenson said the facility could also be used as a "working lab" for a physical therapy or occupational therapy program, which there is demand for, but the college doesn't have.

Whether the space becomes a wellness center or not, Lorenson said the college can repurpose the space to meet students' needs, which is key to the college's survival.

The Lindquist Student Center opened in the fall of 1993 to enhance student and community life.