Spring Valley discusses pool-related issues

By Gary Peterson
gpeterson@fillmorecountyjournal.com

Fri, Jul 13th, 2012
Posted in Spring Valley Features

Comments

By Gary Peterson

“The Spring Valley Swimming Pool has a leak and is losing 7,000 gallons a day through the bottom of the pool.” Park Director John Fenske brought the problem to the City Council on Monday night. He said that he will probably be exceeding his budget because of several pool related issues, and that the Council only has a couple of options, one of which is to close the pool, or to monitor the situation and make the necessary repairs during the down season. He said that he has been checking it for some time now and it has an approximate level of water loss, 7,000 gallons. Fenske arrived at that number after he filled the pool at night and then measured the loss the next morning.

There is also an issue with the skimmers that filter debris from the water and this might require a new pump which would cost about $30,000. Because of the leak, it is necessary to treat the additional water with chemicals and that is expensive as well. Mayor Struzyk expressed his feelings about closing the pool and he is against that option. The pool issue will be discussed at the next Council meeting in two weeks.

At the Council meeting June 25 the Rental Ordinance Public Hearing was held and discussion of the ordinance was again brought up by the Mayor. He said that the majority of people that attended the hearing were owners of rental property and there were few if any renters present. He said he would like to see the renters express their opinions.

Bill Bires said that he knows of at least three formal complaints filed by renters about their living conditions in some rental property. And there was discussion back and forth among the Council members that perhaps the junk ordinance would cover many of the complaints or the state Fire Marshall could be brought in to respond to complaints. This step would probably have some costs connected to it. There weren’t any decisions made and it will undoubtedly appear on the agenda at a future date.

Rochester Sand & Gravel was awarded their bid to resurface the parking lot at South Park. The bid was $37,570. Deb Zimmer noted that the money is on hand to do the project.

Ambulance Director Jim Cooper appeared before the Council and said, “The situation with weekend call has finally reached the critical stage.” He said that twice this past weekend “we had time slots with only one person on the schedule.” According to Cooper, these open slots only last two or three hours, and nothing occurred during those times. This simply cannot be allowed to happen.

A new EMT Policy was presented by Cooper. It states that Employees hired after September 1, 2006, will be required to sign up for a minimum of forty hours of on-call time per month, and 12 hours of this time must be during weekend hours of 6:00 PM Friday to 6:00 PM on Sunday. Employees hired or after July 1, 2012, the 12 hours of weekend must be continuous from 6:00 AM to 6PM on one Saturday or Sunday during the month. The policy further states: “Any employee whose training has been paid for by the City of Spring Valley agrees to provide a minimum of one year of service to the Spring Valley Ambulance Service the amount of $600, which is the amount which could have been recovered after one year of service from the Minnesota EMSRB.”

Other issues from the Council meeting included the hiring of a new street department employee. Evan Krahn will be going to work on Monday.

The council expressed thanks to the American Legion Post as they provided funds for the purchase of 25 poles and flags. The gift will cover the cost of $744. Another gift of $500 was given to the city from the Spring Valley Area Community Foundation to provide for Music in the Park. The Osterud/Winter Trust also provided $500 toward Music in the Park.

No Comments Yet. Be the first to comment!