“We have 225 interlocal agreements with municipalities,” County Commission Chairman Ken Bryan told city commissioners during their regular meeting last week; while Historic City News local reporters observed.
“Forty are with the City of St. Augustine,” Bryan cautioned. “We are subsidizing these agreements, and we can no longer do it.”
Despite community workshops, meetings between city staff and county administration, Bryan announced “We’re getting out of the pool business,” dashing hopes that the county would continue to maintain the Willie Galimore pool and surrounding Eddie Vickers Recreational Facility.
Bryan says that the county will modify an interlocal agreement in September to turn maintenance of the Galimore pool over to the city.
City officials had hoped the $292,000 budgeted for West Augustine’s Solomon Calhoun pool might be stretched to include the Galimore pool, but that idea was rejected.
The county has offered to repair the pool and turn it over to the city.
Bids for repairs will be opened in mid-March.
City Manager John Regan recommended the city take a cash settlement rather than repaired pool, “so our options are open.”
Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News staff photographer
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