Rogue Valley
Ashland City Councilor Rich Rosenthal brought a proposal forward Tuesday night to replace the soon to be demolished pool at Southern Oregon University but couldn’t get a second a second Councilor to dive in on the project with him.
State Representative Peter Buckley had helped secure 3 million dollars in state funding to go towards the construction of a new aquatics facility, with the City needing to come up with the additional 2.2 million to fund the project. The new pool would be housed in the new Athletics complex that will replace the aged McNeal Pavilion and the competition sized pool currently housed there. Rosenthal brought forth a motion to direct staff to identify funding options, but the motion failed for lack of a second.
Concerns on who would provide ongoing funds and manpower for maintenance and upkeep of the new facility was a key concern voiced by Councilors during the discussion. If an alternate plan does not come together soon the state funding would be re-allocated.