Story originally printed in the Vernon Broadcaster or online at www.vernonbroadcaster.com
Published - Monday, May 12, 2008
Viroqua schools still in talks with YMCA to run Bigley Pool
Viroqua School District Administrator Robert Knadle said he is still hopeful that an agreement can be reached between the YMCA of La Crosse and the district to operate the Bigley Pool.
"I am very hopeful that we will have something to bring to the board by the May school board meeting (Monday, May 19)," said Knadle.
Knadle met with YMCA management, Tuesday, April 29, to discuss a potential agreement to run the facility and said there still is a possibility that the facility will be open for summer programs.
"That is a real possibility," said Knadle.
Knadle did not want to get into details of how that would happen, but said there could be a temporary arrangement while the long-term agreement is worked out.
"They were very optimistic, but they want to get some more information about our community," said Knadle.
There will be a survey sent out in the coming weeks that is designed to gather information about what kinds of services the YMCA could offer the community.
"There was some talk about before-school and after-school programs and other youth programming they could provide," said Knadle. "We are still working through what they would need from us and what we would need from them and the idea would be that they would be utilized to administer the pool for us."
The pool was opened in 2003. It was built by donations largely from the James P. Bigley Foundation. One year after it opened, the Viroqua municipal outdoor pool closed due to leaking water, leaving the Bigley Pool as the only pool in Viroqua. The pool has been managed over the last five years by Vernon Memorial Healthcare. Keeping the pool open has been a delicate issue, as VMH announced last year the pool was operating at about a $200,000 deficit per year. VMH's contract to manage the pool expired on Dec. 31, 2007, but VMH has committed itself to handle pool operations until the end of May.
"We have nothing but compliments for VMH and what they have been able to do with the pool," Knadle said.
Knadle said the pool's financial shortfalls were "not caused by anything" in particular. He said that the school district alone cannot pay for the pool to be fully operational.
In other business, the Viroqua School Board held it organizational meeting on Monday, April 28, and elected some new officers.
Mike Skildum was elected as the school board president, he replaces Phil Solverson, who retired from the board at the end of the last term.
Also elected to board officer positions were Angie Lawrence as vice-president, Robert Nigh as clerk and Sarah Johnson as treasurer. Elected as CESA No. 4 representative and delegate was Scott Mills. Vicki Koppa was elected as an alternative CESA delegate.
The board approved naming the new building that will be constructed as part of the new outdoor sports facilities. The building that will house media booths, bathrooms and concession areas will be named the "James P. Bigley Pavilion." There also be a plaque placed in a prominent location at the field on a rock that will state "Donation made by Vernon Memorial Healthcare."
All stories copyright 2006 Vernon Broadcaster and other attributed sources.