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5-06-2025 11:30pm
$1 Million Pool Fix Approved by Saline City Council
Saline City Council voted 5-2 to approve a $1 million fix for the Saline Rec Center pool.
The council voted to approve a contract with Boone & Darr, Inc, for the purchase and installation of the replacement dehumidification unit for the natatorium. The total price is pegged at $1.062,000. The new equipment won't be installed for 20-22 weeks. Mayor Brian Marl and Councillors Chuck Lesch, Jack Ceo, Nicole Rice and Jenn Harmount voted in favor of the motion. Councillors Janet Dillon and Dean Girbach voted against the motion. Girbach, with the support of Dillon, had offered a motion to delay a decision until August. By then, the committee was scheduled to issue a report on the future of the Rec Center, which ran a $400,000 deficit last year before the issue with the dehumidifier reached a breaking point.
The city is expected to bond for the issue and pay $150,000 a year for the dehumidifying unit over the next 14 years.
The city may pay the first installment out of the fund balance.
Many residents - some from the city, some from neighboring towns - spoke about the matter during public comment. Most of the people spoke in support of funding the Rec Center improvements.
"I am a swimmer. I am there six days a week. It's very important for us, our physical health and our mental health," one woman said.
Another woman said that exercise in the pool has helped her live with rheumatoid arthritis.
"I can't tell you how good it is to be to do this every day," Janet Sutherland said.
Another woman started taking water aerobics after she was diagnosed with osteoporosis. She's been teaching for 30 years.
"I've learned to appreciate it," Mary Gregg said. "We've built a community there."
Mitch Rohde asked the city council to delay a decision until it could properly assess the situation.
"I acknowledge the Rec Center is an important part of the community and people love it, but I think spending $1 million of taxpayer money warrants careful consideration," Rhode said. "The center has had deficits for years. It's a very expensive band-aid that doesn't address the underlying conditions."
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Saline Parks and Recreation Director Sunshine Lambert pleaded with council to invest in the next dehumidifier.
"We are hanging on by a thread at this point to keep the aquatic center open," Lambert said. "We would lose significant revenue if we had to shut the pools down. We can't wait any longer."
Girbach and Dillon started rather slow and didn't get into the meat of their argument until their second pass through the questions.
Dillon asked how the city was going to pay the $150,000 a year for equipment. Acting Manager Elle Cole said the city would have to find that money in the general fund until the task force makes recommendations for other sources of revenue.
Dillon asked if the city was going to cancel a road project to fund the dehumidifier.
Both Dillon and Girbach mentioned other big ticket items, like the Mill Pond Dam improvements and the increasing cost of the Saline Area Fire Department as among the many competing priorities.
"We have to prioritize," Dillon said.
Girbach made the motion to postpone action until August, which would give the city's task force time to answer fundamental questions about the feasibility of the Rec Center. Girbach noted there have been four committees and task forces to study the Rec Center in the last 13-14 years. The last committee was supposed to study whether or not the city could afford to operate a Rec Center. Instead, it came back to the city council and recommended nearly $20 million worth of expansion and improvements.
Girbach said the failing dehumidifier could break down tomorrow and close the pool for months, whether the city delays the decision to purchase or not. He noted that he's wanted to deal with this issue since 2020 and the issue has been put off.
"The problem has to be solved and it's not being answered by throwing another $1 million at the issue. I want a plan," Girbach said. "The management and oversight of this facility over the last year and a half, it's not on our current manager, has been a complete, misleading disaster."
Councillor Nicole Rice said she was disappointed to be facing this situation at the Rec Center. She said she didn't disagree with Girbach's assessment.
"But I do feel we should not risk the Rec Center by letting the system fail. If we want to be able to do anything with this building, even selling it off, can't do it as it currently exists," Rice said.
Rice and Girbach are on the task force studying the Rec Center. Rice said it's her goal to find an entity to help take some of the pressure off the 10,000 residents who've been funding the center by their lonesome.
Ceo and Marl both said it made no sense to delay a decision when one for he key complaints was dithering.
Dillon once again brought up the cost. She said between the $400,000 deficit and the first year of funding the dehumidifier, that's a mill-worth of tax dollars.
She said she'd like to give the issue to the voters to consider.
Girbach's motion fell by a 5-2 vote. He and Dillon were the only supporters.
Marl introduced the motion to spend $1 million on the dehumidifier. He said everything was on a great trajectory at the Rec Center just before COVID. He said membership levels were devastated and have never recovered.
He said the Rec center was at a fork in the road and that he hopes the task force can recommend ways to turn things up again at the center. Council voted 5-2 to approve the measure.
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Replies
Brian Marl
Neighbor
5-07-2025 9:42am
No, the motion to approve & adopt was made by Ceo, seconded by Lesch. If you're interested in an unedited/unredacted version of Monday's meeting, the link to the video recording of our budget work session and regular meeting is provided below -
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Ali McDonald
Neighbor
5-07-2025 9:59am
Thank you to those Council members who support the citizens and the Rec Center.
What some Council members do not seem to understand is that Recreation Centers are not intended to be and typically are not profit centers. Measured on their own, they nearly always run a deficit. However, they also increase the desirability of a City for potential home purchasers, increase housing values (and associated tax revenue), and traffic flow to local businesses. While other cities are spending/have spent tens of millions of dollars to build new facilities, Saline has neglected maintenance and improvement expenditures for their very good existing facility for years. Of course membership is declining as the Center cannot provide reliable services because of this.
The Rec Center not only offers a place to exercise, it offers day and summer camp for children in support of working parents, educational programming, special events, much needed social outlet for many, and so much more.
Looking at the amount of money being spent on the school modifications this year as well as enhancements to what was already a very competitive and well equipped Senior Center (as a senior who uses it, do not understand prioritizing the spend there), one has to wonder why investment in a very good existing Rec Center has continued to be neglected. Sale to a for profit entity (or really anyone) while other communities invest tens of millions to offer their residents comprehensive Recreation Centers is likely to result in significant loss of membership and negatively impact the desirability of Saline and home prices as compared to those other communities.
DB Girbach
Neighbor
5-07-2025 11:31am
Please note, the rec center now requires 1/3 to almost 1/2 of its operations be funded by the City of Saline taxpayers. Approximately 10% of our City population uses the facility, while 2/3 of the members are non-resident. It’s time the non City residents of the Saline community pays its fair share.
Jeff Weiss
Neighbor
5-08-2025 7:44am
"I don’t claim to fully understand the intricacies of city government, but this is a complex issue that should ultimately be decided by the citizens of Saline, as they are the ones funding it. While the recreation center may hold value for some, it’s not clear that it benefits the majority, especially if the membership numbers that Council Member Girbach mentioned are accurate. Regardless of profitability, any typical business that consistently loses money year after year would close, not be propped up by taxpayer dollars. In my opinion, people don’t choose to buy homes in a town primarily because of a recreation center."
David Jenkins
Neighbor
5-09-2025 8:47am
I'd go further and say that having to pay taxes for a facility but usage requires additional money (membership) has detrimental effect on Saline's desirability. Our taxes pay for schools, parks, the library etc, but we don't have to spend an incremental dollar to use them.
Ali McDonald
Neighbor
5-08-2025 9:58am
Appreciate the discussion. Thank you.
A quick search seems to demonstrate that it is quite common for at least 45% of funding for local recreation centers to come from taxes, including sales tax revenue (remember, for Saline, some of this also includes Lodi Township resident tax dollars, not just Saline). Seems appropriate for a community asset, one would think.
Appreciate your point regarding personal benefit and understand the Rec Center may not be of value to you personally. So, let's look at how that works for some other things.
As folks who have never had children, tens of thousands of our tax dollars have been spent to fund schools. Saline age demographics suggest at least 50% of Saline residents are unlikely to have school age children. Should all of us who do not have children currently in K-12 start a campaign to stop use of our tax dollars to fund schools - to stop all improvements, to privatize schools, and/or close schools? Should folks who do have children be able to stop their tax dollars from funding schools once their children no longer attend K-12?
What about the Senior Center? Age demographics suggest roughly 20% - 25% of Saline residents are eligible to use the Senior Center. Even given that, a fair amount of taxpayer money has been used to establish and maintain the Senior Center and voters in fact recently approved a significant investment in improvements to the already competitive and comprehensive Senior Center. As Seniors who use both facilities, would argue the Rec Center is more comprehensive, available to the entire community, and if we have to start picking and choosing, the Rec Center would be the better overall investment and is available to benefit a larger number of citizens.
We have also had friends interested in using the Rec Center. Sadly, the lack of investment and improvement by the City over the years has caused them to go elsewhere - so, a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy here.
So, while schools, senior centers, and recreation centers may each only directly benefit a percentage of the population they all ultimately improve the whole and together directly impact the overall desirability of the community. If we have to choose on the basis of personal benefit suggested, we will be happy to add up all the money paid to public schools by our taxes over the years and to the senior center and ask that it be redirected to the Rec Center (trying to add some levity - though this is where that type of logic would lead us).
Take care.
DB Girbach
Neighbor
5-09-2025 7:40am
Lodi Township does not contribute any taxes to the Rec Ctr. The minor support received from CARES represents grants awarded for specific programs and less than $10K annually. Saline Area Schools control all CARES funding.
DB Girbach
Neighbor
5-09-2025 7:49am
Also, the Senior center is completely funded thru CARES. It will also soon receive additional funding from a recently approved Washtenaw County millage, supplementing existing support.
Ali McDonald
Neighbor
5-09-2025 9:22am
CARES, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act is ultimately taxpayer money as are the other sources you note. As mentioned earlier, taxpayer money is devoted to many institutions utilized by significantly fewer than 100% of the residents paying to support them, schools being just one example.
Government is not intended to be a for profit entity. It is intended to allocate financial resources in a manner that supports and improves the quality of life for ALL members of the community. Again, as previously stated, many of us pay significant sums that are allocated to institutions we do not use. Unlike schools, for example, individuals who choose to use the Rec Center pay an additional amount above and beyond their tax dollars to do so be it through membership fees or payment for individual events/services. Non-members and non-residents pay higher fees for these memberships/events/services than residents.
Just as schools and the senior center are not in and of themselves profit centers neither is the Rec Center (in Saline or just about anywhere that has one). Despite not being profit centers, a significant amount of taxpayer dollars are devoted to schools and the senior center, parks, and other community enrichment items. Why should the Rec Center be viewed any differently than these other community services that do not generate a profit and are supported for the benefit of significantly less than 100% of the citizens?
Libby Williams
Neighbor
5-08-2025 11:39am
10% of the population might be MEMBERS, but that doesn’t mean the rest don’t ever use it. In fact, non members (including those nonresidents you speak of) actually pay more for classes and community events than members. The rec center is more than just a gym, it hosts classes and events for the entire community without need for membership. It is one of the things I’m happy to pay for as a city resident, unlike water treatment that went mismanaged for years. Be angry at the right things.
David Zimmer
Neighbor
5-09-2025 8:58am
While serving on the Saline Area School District Board of Education , now many years ago, I was asked to look into the possibility of merging the Community Education program with the Recreation Center and associated funding of both. (my background includes many multi-national mergers in my business career prior to moving back to Michigan from Silicon Valley and similar work with Big 4 Consulting since my return)
At that time the CARES funding covered the funding of the Recreation Center and the School District pools and other athletic facilities of both entities.
At the time the preliminary view of a outside consulting firm was that the consolidation of operations would save the City and School District considerable money in oversight and administration.
The outcome of that work determined that any merger would be too disruptive to both programs. To address the funding issues, the City determined to open up membership to families who lived within the School District boundaries at City membership rates. This made sense at the time since both entities received CARES funding.
This approach worked for both organizations at the time and along with other changes, the membership of the Recreation Center grew and turned a modest profit by 2018 or so.
Since that time the School District dropped the Rec, Center from the scope of the funding from the CARES funding and the City did not object at the time since the membership growth allowed for them the handle the daily operational expenses.
Seems to me since the Rec. Center still offers non city residents who live within the School District boundaries' city rates for membership then maybe a solution for the greater community would be for the CARES Funds be used to handle capital needs such as the HVAC system and other Capital Improvement needs.
Since the pool at the High School (now used exclusively for High School Students) was paid for by the School District Residents when it was built, it seems like a reasonable option for the School District CARES Funds be considered to cover the most recent HVAC expenses and be an option for further Capital needs at the Rec. Center.
This option will require consideration by both organizations and legal review as well, but it might be a option that works for everyone's long term interests. For everyone's consideration.
David Zimmer
Ali McDonald
Neighbor
5-09-2025 9:32am
Thanks much for this very helpful post (and I now see from your timeline that the earlier post regarding CARES tied to Michigan Cares funding, not Federal CARES Act funding - either way, taxpayer funds). Had wondered about the impact of City decisions regarding fund allocation. Appreciate you taking the time to share the history in this space and help work toward a viable solution.
