WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Watertown’s Flynn Pool will dominate the discussions Monday night as city lawmakers decide how to pay for the $3.9 million to redo the northside pool. The choices: pay cash; bond, or say no to the pool altogether.
If they decide to borrow the money or pay cash, that would be around $3 million since some money has already been spent up to this point.
Lawmakers could pay for it over time too or bond for it. But a yes vote would have to come from 4 out of 5 council members.
Those odds are slim. Both Council Member Sarah Compo Pierce and Mayor Jeff Smith say they won’t bond for the pool even though Council Member Lisa Ruggiero points out they both voted to bond for the Thompson Park pool in 2020.
“He said, ‘Well, it really would be fiscally responsible to bond for the balance of the Thompson Park pool,’ and encouraged us to support that, and we did. It passed unanimously,” said Ruggiero.
Smith defends his action, saying the pool was already in the works when he joined council and, now in 2023, he says the city doesn’t need another pool.
“That should be the real argument, is do we need a third pool at nearly $4 million for 12 weeks of usage a year,” he said.
Compo Pierce says while she supports a recreational asset on the north side of the city, she doesn’t feel a pool is the answer and encourages her colleagues to think outside of the box.
“The argument about being fiscally conservative, either way, you’re spending that money. Whether you bond, whether you don’t bond. Whether you bond, you’re spending more money,” she said.
If the city were to bond, City Manager Ken Mix says the borrowing term is 10 years at 2.75 percent paying off the project and $450,000 in interest.
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