Upgrades on tap for NYM pool

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Sand and salt will have a new place to call home in the City of New York Mills.

During its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday night, the NY Mills City Council approved a bid from McCall Construction for $453,745.27 to construct a new sand and salt storage building in town. The city had previously been utilizing the T19 building near the library and Cultural Center to provide cold storage. However, that building was recently sold, which created the need to find a new place for cold storage.

Public utilities director Kyle Mattson said he expressed a desire to McCall Construction to utilize local contractors for the project, whenever possible. 

Mattson said another benefit of selling the T19 building was getting the property back on the tax rolls as well. The cold storage building will be located on the northwest side of the City Center parking lot. Construction is scheduled to take place as soon as possible.

Pool project

A new and enhanced finish will be coming to Legried Community Pool as soon as next year. The new finish is part of an expansive project at the popular summer destination in NY Mills that was in need of some upgrades as the pool starts to show its age. 

According to city staff, over the past few years the city has spent a considerable amount of time trying to find cracks in the pool and regulating the chemicals in the water itself. 

City clerk Julie Roberts said the cost is quite a bit more than originally anticipated, but going with the more expensive option now will allow the city to save money down the road. She said the pool remains a popular destination for families in the community in the summer, which is why she advocated for using the inter-glass system, as opposed to a cement base. 

“It’s going to be a much better surface and last a lot longer,” she said. “I just feel like it is a better plan, it is a much bigger plan than we were originally going to better off, but I think in the long run (it will be better).”

According to a report from Mid-America Pool Renovation, Inc., the inter-glass system is an inert surface and does not interact with pool chemicals like a cement or painted surface and is a more “silky smooth” surface that can be easily cleaned and reduce pool chemical usage by up to 50 percent. It also cannot shrink-crack or become rough like cement base pool linings, nor will it need to be sandblasted or acid washed down the road. 

Mattson said the city replaced the surface of the pool with a cement base approximately 4-5 years before he started with the city and within just 4-5 years the city was already putting about $10,000 per year in a hypoxy paint every year. He said if the city were to go with the more expensive option right away it would not only save on money and time for city staff, but would also provide a safer environment for those who use the pool every year.

“It would allow for safe water and a safe surface in there,” he said. 

Councilman Jerry Nesland said the city should talk to organizations like the NY Mills Lions Club to see if they would be able to contribute some additional money to the overall pool project since it is such a popular community activity during the summer months. 

The pool project was approved and the city will seek to get the new inter-glass surface installed as soon as possible. The total cost of the project with the upgraded inter-glass finish will be $212,100 to complete both the kiddie and main pool. Just replastering the pool would have cost between $130,000-$148,000 but would have cost more money annually to maintain. 

Roberts said the city already has a good plan in place to utilize funding sources to cover a portion of the overall cost. 

In other news

• Heard the monthly liquor store report from Mills Liquor Manager Lana Jacobson. The report showed the net revenues before transfers is down nearly 73 percent from last year, while the change over prior years as a percentage of sales was down 6.54 percent. Roberts said the liquor store has seen a downward turn over the past 6-12 months. Part of the reason, she said, was due to a pair of new liquor store establishments in the community that has added some additional competition. She said the liquor store continues to pay rent and cleaning of about $20,000 per year, as well as pays utilities for its spot in the city hall. Roberts went on to say that while the bottom line may be down the liquor store continues to make financial contributions to the city overall when taking in consideration rent, cleaning and utilities.

• Heard the monthly fire department report that showed 25 calls for service, which included 20 medical calls for the month of July. The fire department is currently 10 calls ahead of last year with 137 calls for service in 2024. 

• Heard the monthly police report that showed 125 calls for service, which included three citations, 24 warnings and one arrest. 

• Reviewed a number of city ordinances, including one that will allow residents to have up to four chickens in the city limits, another that will restrict when a barbed wire fence can be utilized and another that will regulate mobile food trucks in the city limits. 

• Accepted the following donations: $1,500 from RDO Equipment/MVI for the pool project, $5,000 from MidCo for the pool project and $2,000 from Otter Tail Power for the pool project. 

• Heard a presentation from Amanda Quam concerning West Central Initiative. According to a report presented to the city council, Otter Tail County has received 1,668 grants totaling $12.9 million and 346 loans totaling $17.7 million since 1986 from WCI. 

• Approved increasing the rental rate for the NY Mills City Ballroom from $500 per day and $75 for an additional day on the weekend to $900 for both Friday and Saturday. The deposit will also be increased from $150 to $500. Roberts said the city currently does not make money on renting out the ballroom when considering paying for things like security for events, cleaning and incidentals. The increase will allow the city to make some revenue on renting out the ballroom. It was reported the city has about 10-15 weddings per year at the facility and the increase in fees will be for new bookings that will be held after January 1.