City Council discusses park grant

The Yoakum City Council has opted to cancel operations for the Yoakum City Pool given its current condition at the March 11 meeting.

This has been in discussion for the last two city council meetings.

“We’re proposing to shut the pool down this season because of the maintenance issues that we have,” Director of Parks and Recreation Doug Laqua said at a previous city council meeting. “Right now I have a drain that cannot drain the pool and some other mechanical issues that needs to be addressed. The pool is shifting. Last year I had to keep a water hose in it just to keep the pool leveled. The circulation pump and everything that helps the pool operate efficiently isn’t working. Attendance wise, the pool is dropping. This is a 75-yearold-pool, and it’s served its purpose and it’s probably that time. There are some other issues that if it needed to be inspected, it wouldn’t pass.”

The pool cannot be safely operated in its current condition according to Laqua. The repairs for the pool would cost around $400,000.

“I was talking to Burdge O’Donnell Pools out of Victoria,” Laqua said. “They looked at the shifting of the deck and all the cracks in the pool. They went over everything they could do to fix the pool. There was a second option that cost more than $400,000, but it would be cheaper to do away with the pool.”

The pool attendance has been down recently and there hasn’t been a swimming team for several years now.

The City of Yoakum has received an outdoor recreation grant years back from Texas Parks and Wildlife. The grant was $750,000 and 40% will be going towards the use of a new splash pad where the pool is now.

Mayor Carl O’ Neill said this will be a good substitute for the pool.

“We’re looking at a location for the splash pad,” O’ Neill said. “We are considering the option of putting the splash pad on top of the pool. We did a survey for the grant and the splash pad was ranked very high.”

O’ Neill said the Texas Parks and Wildlife grant project should be starting at the end of this month and the splash pad is expected to be worked on at the end of May.

“The first priority from that grant regards upgrading the walking trail,” O’ Neill said. “We’re also going to upgrade the pavilion and some of the playscapes at the park as well. I’m excited to get that project started.”

Other items on the agenda include:

• Council approved a request from the Yoakum Chamber of Commerce for the closure of certain streets and utilization of city property for the 97th annual Tom-Tom Festival held the weekend of June 5. The 5K run will be the same route as last year.

• Council considered a request from the Yoakum Independent School District regarding construction assistance for drainage issues. This is near the new and upcoming softball field.

• Council extended the moratorium on the placement of manufactured homes within Yoakum City Limits for an additional 180 days.

• It was reported the Yoakum African American Cemetery was recognized as a historic site.

• Aaron Boxer submitted a proposed RV Park regulation to the council. He has experience in both RV Parks and has spent 30 years in the FAA, writing many rules and regulations in the past. Council will review his proposal and handle it at the next meeting at 6 p.m. April 8 at City Hall.