CITY: POOL MONEY WILL BE BANKED.
The City of Clinton is putting the reserved tag on $1.6 million it expects to receive from the federal government to possibly construct a swimming pool, slide, splash pad and bathhouse at the Clinton YMCA property on South Broad Street.
City Council took the action Monday night at a wide-ranging regular monthly meeting that lasted nearly 2 hours. Council also presented Christmas Parade and Decoration Awards, thanked retirees Phil Hasty and Marvin Moss for their work, and agreed to the scope of services for a special audit.
The reserved $1.6 million is coming in a second installment of American Rescue Plan Act money from the Biden Administration. Most of the first installment money is designated, but a small part of the second installment money is in the designated category. That leaves most of the second installment at the city’s discretion, as long as it meets ARPA guidelines. This is federal money designed to help states, counties and cities recover from the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The pandemic subsided for a while, but now the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control says that all but two South Carolina counties are at high or moderate levels of infection once again.
“We haven’t had a swimming pool in Clinton in 25 years,” said Mayor Bob McLean, who has advocated actively for the ARPA designation for the past few months. McLean is not seeking re-election in the March 7 municipal election.
The pool project is projected to cost about $1.3 million and will take an estimated $15,000 per month to operate (open four months of the year). It is expected that a small fee will be assessed for all-day swimming. A rendering of a project in Barnwell was shown to the council. A more “Clintonized” plan could be available to the council within 30 days.
Council Member Megan Walsh expressed a reservation - “We have two very large ongoing projects — the police-fire station and the recreation complex. Where are we? No one is opposed to this (pool), but we need to be waiting as we invest the money and see where these two projects are going.”
McLean countered, “We can do more than one project at a time and have somebody swimming by next September. I doubt we are going to get another $4 million the feds, so if we don’t do it now, it won’t get done.”
The City is slated to spend $7 million on its Police and Fire Stations and $5 million on Phase 1 of the Hwy 56 Recreation Complex, all of which is in-hand through bonds, hospitality and accommodations tax money.
But Walsh was concerned that supply chain issues and general construction cost over-runs could increase that spending, and then the City also would be committed to a pool. In the end, council agreed to hold the $1.6 million in reserve, earning interest, and designated for a pool project.
Meanwhile, City Manager Tom Brooks is instructed to develop a more concrete plan for the pool, which could have an expanded bath-house to provide restrooms for the Y’s outdoor tennis courts and pickle ball courts, in addition to the water features.
Council vote to hold the money in reserve, as designated, was unanimous.
Council also heard from County Recreation Director Andy Howard about multiple improvements coming to Clinton parks through the Capital Projects Sales Tax. County personnel and Presbyterian College students worked Saturday on an improvement project at the Calvert Avenue park.
Howard said 25 parks throughout Laurens County are being upgraded - with 8 of those in Clinton - through the extra penny sales tax that voters approved Nov. 3, 2020. Most of the upgrades haven’t made “a big splash,” Howard said, because some work is being done by county labor; but he pointed out that improving parks is Priority 1 on the CPST list of 16 to-do projects.
“The Penny Sales Tax will change the lives of people in Laurens County,” said Howard, who is direct supervisor of 5 county projects financed by the tax, which sunsets after 8 years.
Howard said the Laurens County Website has a CPST section that explains all the projects and provided periodic updates on their progress.
