Commissioners hear pool survey results
Feb. 20—GREENSBURG — Decatur County Parks and Recreation Director Teresa Kovacich appeared before the Decatur County Commissioners Monday to read initial results of the public survey being conducted concerning the city pool replacement project.
Through Survey Monkey, the Allen Memorial Pool Committee polled residents of the county, asking what they want to replace Allen Memorial Public Pool, which was closed in 2022.
According to Kovacich, of the 1,048 results registered, 512 responses were from those living inside Greensburg city limits and 416 were from respondents living in the county.
She said the most common responses were from female residents, aged 31 to 49 with children living at home, with the same group responding as they would "more than likely" use the facility.
The survey pointed to a water slide as the most important feature, with second in importance being a "zero entry" feature.
The third most important feature outlined in the survey was the necessity of a lazy river feature, with the toddler splash zone/play area as next in importance.
Kovacich told the Commissioners that a family slide/climbing wall and a diving well were also of relative importance.
The survey also said that Greensburg swimmers went first to the Shelbyville pool and then to the Batesville facility when Greensburg's pool wasn't available.
Accessibility and inclusivity were rated "very important" among those who responded.
"We want to continue with inclusive programs and facilities as our top priorities," she said.
Decatur County Commissioner Mark Koors asked Kovacich if she had toured the newly finished construction on the pool project in Aurora, Indiana. Except for the smaller size of the finished Aurora facility, its history and construction were comparable to the Greensburg project.
"It is a very nice pool," she said. "There's no doubt that we'll see an increase of attendance and revenue if we can build something exciting, new and colorful to our community."
First Baptist Church Pastor Greg Redd, who was seated in the audience, said that his church does a yearly trip to the Shelbyville facility and that families love it.
"If we could have something here we'd stay here, instead of going to another town," Redd said.
Conversation continued, with both Commissioner Jeremy Pasel and Tony Blodgett offering their summation of the scope and progress of the project, until Pasel voiced concerns about funding versus maintenance work on existing facilities in the county.
"I don't want to be buying a Corvette if my house is falling in," he said. "I want to make sure we can afford this with the [Decatur County] Council refusing the 1% food and beverage tax, without sacrificing projects we have to have further down the pike."
Blodgett said, "I definitely think we're going to have to have some hard conversations on how we're going to find the $3 million."
No decisions were made, but it was decided that an executive session would be called based on the results of the Parks and Rec meeting Monday evening and the Decatur County Council meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday. The Daily News will report on further details as they develop.
Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-651-0876 or email bill.rethlake@greensburgdailynews.com.
