News

Chillicothe Pool To Open After Council Vote

As summer heat is rising Chillicothe residents will be able to cool off in the Donald M. Smith Memorial pool.

The City Council approved a last minute legislation to use $100,000 of general fund money to open the pool.

However, not all council members were in favor of the move.

Dustin Proehl, Councilman At-Large, was the only council member to vote against opening the pool.

Proehl says he doesn't want to be in a situation where they have to lay off local employees because they didn't have sufficient funds.

"They're guessing on all this money that's coming in, and I just did not feel comfortable putting that money out on a bunch of guesses," says Proehl.

He says that the pool is old and has potential issues that may need to be fixed.

"I'd love to see the pool open too because it's a good thing for the kids, it's very popular in the community and surrounding area," says Proehl.

Mayor Jack Everson told the council that they are working on a new long-term management and funding for the pool.

Everson says he hopes that the funds will be paid back through pool admissions, park shelter rentals and donations.

The pool is set to be open in the second week in June.