Water will not be splashing at the Sargent pool this upcoming swim season, but that could change in the future through a bond approved for a mail-in ballot vote during the City Council meeting on Tuesday (April 8).
After temporary piping was installed at the pool in 2022 to allow use in 2023 and 2024, the NDEE operating permit expired, meaning no swimming in the pool until improvements or a new build were done.
The bond approved on Tuesday is the same one that has come up short two times previously. Most recently, an effort to approve the bond (to not exceed $4 million) fell short in the November election with 125 voting ‘for’ the bond and 128 voting ‘against’. Before that, the bond issue failed 70 ‘for’ and 129 ‘against’ in 2023.
For those who are a part of the Sargent Pool Fund committee, despite the previous failures the effort to raise money has not stopped. Committee member Jinger Larsen said that they have been busy working to offset costs if a bond is passed.
“Well we’ve continued to have fundraisers, we’re trying to keep up on that. We recently had a bracket challenge for March Madness. We’re doing May baskets here coming up. For June we’re planning a pitch and bingo night. Those have gone over well in the past. So we’re just continuing to raise funds,” said Larsen.
Those who attended this past Tuesday’s meeting used words such as ‘heated’ and ‘passionate’ to describe the discussions that took place, but said they felt that overall a majority of the town wants to have a swimming pool. The difference in opinion lies in how big of a pool the town needs and, therefore, what amount the bond should be. Many perspectives were heard from all ages during the discussion.
At the time of the study conducted in spring of 2024, the construction option chosen when forming the bond would cost $3,895,400. The plan would increase the pool size by just under 1,000 square feet and the bathhouse size by approximately 800 feet.
Voters will receive ballots in the mail for a mail-in vote this summer to decide whether or not the third time is the charm for a pool bond in Sargent.
