'We can't just sit back and do nothing'

The need for a new pool in the City With a Heart is obvious to Jackie Stoltz.

"It's important that our town be progressive and offer multiple things," said the Hartley woman, who served on the pool taskforce committee and is also helping raise funds for a new aquatic center. "We can't just sit back and do nothing. We have to move ahead and be progressive."

Local voters will decide the fate of a $1.7 million bond issue on March 2 that, if passed, will finance more than half the cost to construct a new pool. 'Yes' votes will need to tally 60 percent for the referendum to be successful.

Stoltz hoped Hartley voters would see the measure as an investment in the city's future. She noted recent improvements to the Little League fields, a new elementary school and the industrial park on Highway 18 as recent highpoints for Hartley.

"We need to keep to going," Stoltz said. "It's an investment. If you look at it over what it's going to cost you over 15 years as opposed to a $3 million project, it's minute."

The project

Hartley's new swimming pool will be built at or near its current location in Neebel Park. Other spots were discussed, but the park provided the least expensive option.

The square footage of the new pool will be comparable to the current one. The pool taskforce committee originally gave design company Water's Edge a price point of $1.75 million to develop blueprints, but that amount would get Hartley a pool that's 40 percent smaller than the current one with very few additional amenities. The committee eventually decided that constructing a $3 million pool would better suit the community's needs

If constructed, the new pool will include zero-entry play area with a family slide, four swimming lanes, deep water diving and swim area, basketball hoops and a volleyball net, new bathhouse, and a large deck area with shaded zones. It is hoped to be constructed and operable by the summer of 2022.

It's unknown if local kids will still be able to take a dip during the construction period if the new pool is built adjacent to the current one in Neebel Park.

What's wrong with the old pool?

City officials have been discussing a new pool for more than five years. The current aquatic center was built in 1958 and the last major updates were completed in 1996. Several issues have worsened in recent years, and inspectors have determined the facility is nearing the end of its functioning life. Key parts like the heater and pumps are on their last legs, and city council members have said recently that investing money for repairs at an obsolete facility would be a poor use of tax dollars.

How much will it cost me?

Like every bond issue, property taxes will increase if the referendum is approved next week.

The 15-year bond estimate has been pegged at $3.25 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. After Iowa's Residential Rollback is added to the equation, only 56.4094 percent of the assessed value of a home is taxable. A home in Hartley assessed at $100,000 would pay $183.33 per year, while a home assessed at $150,000 would pay $274.98. Likewise, a home assessed at $75,000 would pay $137.50 annually.

The city's current debt limit is $1.7 million and it cannot borrow more than that for the new pool, hence the bond's price tag.

Where's the rest coming from?

The $1.7 million bond will cover slightly more than half of construction costs, prompting the need for other financing.

A $500,000 fundraising goal has been set. As of last week, nearly $90,000 in contributions had been raised. More fundraising events will be announced during the coming year.

The rest of the pool's price tag will come from grants, but the bond issue is the lynchpin. The aquatic center needs the voters' support before city officials can start applying for grant monies.

Where do I vote?

Voters residing inside Hartley city limits can cast their ballots March 2 at the Hartley Community Center from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. All voters must provide a current and valid photo identification with an expiration date to participate in the election.

Residents wishing to participate in this election who registered to vote in O'Brien County after Feb. 19 will be required to provide proof of identification (i.e. current and valid photo identification card with an expiration date), and proof of residency in the voting precinct, when they go to the polls on election day.