The Grants Pass City Council decided to put off decisions on Caveman Pool, the creation of an Urban Renewal Agency Task Force and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding during its bi-weekly workshop session on Monday.
Grants Pass Parks Superintendent Josh Hopkins opened the workshop with a presentation on building a new Caveman Pool, including a cost overview and next options. The City Council has received the options from Robertson Sherwood Architects (RSA), which had a representative attend the workshop by phone.
Hopkins said the estimated cost to rebuild the pool in its current location near Grants Pass High School is more than $10.2 million, but RSA recommends a budget of nearly $13.6 million including recreational amenities and a built-in markup due to rising construction costs.
Members of the Grants Pass Family YMCA were also in attendance and they have proposed a partnership with the city to build a new facility including a swimming pool on the south side of the Rogue River. Right now, the City of Grants Pass has earmarked a total of $6.3 million for the pool including funding options of ARPA, the Urban Renewal Agency (URA) and a potential general obligation bond.
Some of the Councilors wanted to proceed with rebuilding Caveman Pool while some wanted to pursue the YMCA partnership and others wanted to pursue both. A motion was made to pause the Caveman Pool project for 30 days in order to get more information from the Y. The motion passed by a narrow margin of 4-to-3.
The City Council also decided to hold off on evaluating and reallocating the $9.3 million in ARPA funding until after a decision is made on the pool. Some of the money may be shifted to purchase radios for the police and fire departments while some of it may be reallocated to purchase a property for a homeless shelter. A decision on forming an URA Task Force was also postponed as the Council -- acting as the URA Board of Directors -- wants to refine its plan for the future.
