Delay on $77M aquatics bond means new councilors will decide future of Sioux Falls pools

Much of the proposed $77 million bond that would fund a plan to reshape two of Sioux Falls' aging pools and add much-needed indoor recreation space will not be voted on at the Sioux Falls City Council's May 7 meeting as originally been planned.

That means half of the councilors who've spent years learning about the project won't be around to cast their votes on the matter.

Plans to replace the decades-old pools at Frank Olson Park and Kuehn Park have been discussed since at least early 2020, when a consulting group studying the city's parks system recommended upgrading the pools instead of closing them.

And as time has gone by, that plan has crystallized into two major parts: A $47 million recreation center including indoor aquatics at Frank Olson, and $18 million for a newly-renovated pool at Kuehn, part of a complex that would also include softball fields, batting cages, a sledding hill and a walking trail.

A third aspect, recently announced by Mayor Paul TenHaken, was the plan to purchase of the Sanford Tea-Ellis Wellness Center, adding another $9 million to the proposed aquatics bond.

More: Sioux Falls councilors see proposals for Frank Olson, Kuehn pools

That announcement took place more than two weeks ago, on April 17, when Parks and Recreation Director Don Kearney said the Sioux Falls City Council would be voting on the bond at their May 7 and May 14 meetings.

But when the agenda for the May 7 meetings were posted on Friday afternoon, the informational meeting included a "Recreation & Aquatics Bond Update" to be given by the city's finance director, Shawn Pritchett.

And while resolutions approving the master plans of Frank Olson Park and Kuehn Park appear on the council meeting's agenda, the only funding for the future of the city's aquatics comes from an item that would provide the $9 million in appropriations to purchase the Tea-Ellis Wellness Center, noting "It is intended that proceeds from a future bond issuance will provide reimbursement for the acquisition."

Asked if the vote had been postponed, Vanessa Gomez, TenHaken's communications officer, said that the administration had "been collaborating with City Councilors to extend the timeline to consider the Aquatics Bond to coincide with our annual budgeting process."

"This allows us more time to work with Councilors on various details related to the projects in the bond," she said. "We look forward to sharing more, including a revised timeline with milestones, in Tuesday's Council Informational."

What exactly that timeline looks like is unclear, though the city's budget is usually voted on in September. Still, any delay in the vote will have one significant effect, given May 21 marks the date when four new city councilors will be sworn in.

Councilors Alex Jensen, Marshall Selberg, Pat Starr and Greg Neitzert will be replaced by Richard Thomason, Ryan Spellerberg, Miranda Basye and Jennifer Sigette — four councilors who will need to get up to speed.

More: Sioux Falls plans to buy westside wellness center as part of $77M bond facing council vote

It's something that Councilor Curt Soehl has talked about several times during this process.

"I've been on the council five and a half years." Soehl said at a Nov. 21 council meeting. "We've been talking about a bond, and I know it's the finance department ... I strongly urge the administration to bring any bond proposal in front of this council, not the next council. Because as I've done some informal polling of this council, I know where we want to be. And I think it's unfortunate that if we bring in new council members, and they come in at the very end of a discussion about the pricing and the priorities of our community, we're doing them an injustice because they're not going to have time to get educated."

While Soehl wasn't concerned about how the new councilors might approach the project, he said it would be a "courtesy" to allow councilors to vote on a plan they'd worked hard to put in place.

"If I was going off the council," Soehl said in an interview, "I'd be disappointed."

Neitzert, for his part, says he isn't disappointed.

"I am fully supportive," he said in a text message. "We need to do this right, and there are still unanswered questions. The council must adopt an affordable framework for any proposed rec center before moving forward."

Starr texted it's concerning that they don't think they have the votes to move forward.

"It's been more than 20 years these pools have needed to be updated," he stated. "Sad the citizens would have to wait longer."

And Basye said said she was thrilled to have an opportunity to be part of such a "significant quality of life investment in our community."

"Thinking ahead about that, we have a situation where there are a number of different projects wrapped up together with various plans and financials," Basye said. "Approving the bond would be just the first next step. We will also need to set things like admission costs and cost recovery rates on the operations for these facilities. I expect to the continuation of these conversations will help us figure out where to land on the bond details."

Spellerberg said he had just been informed about the delay, and would wait to comment on the issue.

Jensen, Selberg, Sigette and Thomason did not immediately respond to questions.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Delay on $77M aquatics bond means new councilors will decide future of Sioux Falls pools