Peacock proposes new pool for county

By By

Castle Dale City Mayor Neal Peacock made a presentation to the school board concerning the proposal to build a new swimming pool. The present pool in Castle Dale is very old and in need of many repairs. It has gotten to a point where the city cannot put the funding into the repairs. It is a much better concept to build a new pool that will be without the problems the current pool is presenting.
Peacock said the children of Emery County need a pool and replacing the pool is a high priority. Emery County Recreation is willing to go to the Community Impact Board and request funding for a new pool. Following the proposed construction of a pool, the rec district is willing to operate the facility. The Emery County commissioners have stated their support of this proposition and promised to support the rec district at the CIB. Most towns in Emery County will also write letters of support to the CIB.
The request Peacock made of the schoolboard was to donate a parcel of land on which to locate the pool. It is felt that a location which would be close to Emery High School would benefit the students there by providing an opportunity to offer swimming classes as part of the curriculum.
Peacock explained that Ken Naylor, an architect for the proposed project has looked at several parcels of school district property. His suggestion was to place the pool in the parking lot to the south of the seminary building on Center Street. Peacock explained that the parking lot on that side of the school is used very little and this location would not create a problem for the school.
Peacock said that if the school board decides to donate the property for the proposed pool, that action would carry a lot of weight with the CIB. He also explained that the rec district and other towns in Emery County, will only come on board if the school district donates the land and the pool is located near the high school. The new pool would be owned and operated by the rec district.
Laurel Johansen, president of the school board expressed her appreciation to Peacock for the presentation. They will take this information under consideration and let him know of that decision.
Huntington Elementary School Principal Tom Baltzer began with a brief explanation of the happenings at the school. “This has been an interesting year. It has been great, but it has also been interesting. We have had several teachers with health problems, several with surgeries, but we are making it through.
“The traveling earthquake exhibit is on display in our school for April which is earthquake month. We had an earthquake drill in the school last Friday.
“We have had two ladies from Springville Art Museum here at school for the past two days. They have been speaking in the classrooms and teaching the students to draw.
“At Huntington Elementary, we have two teachers for first grade. One of the teachers teaches only reading. The other teaches the other disciplines. This has been working well and we are awaiting the results.
“Enrollment is projected to go down next year. There are 355 students at Huntington, with 52 of those being sixth graders who will be moving on to junior high next year. The approximate number of kindergartners coming in will be 34.
“Also, due to the very hard work of the staff here, the school made adequate yearly progress this year. Last year we did not make AYP, but the teachers dug in and this year we made it. We have a great staff.
“We have been looking into an issue of safety. That issue is the traffic and parking problems on 100 North, in front of the school. A committee has been formed, and is working in conjunction with Huntington City to solve those problems.” said Baltzer.
Marc Stilson, the Emery County Economic Development chairman stated that a pool is a very important piece of infrastructure to a community. He said the economic development office fields many telephone calls in which the person making the inquiry asks specifically if the area has a swimming pool. Many people feel that for Emery County to grow economically, the area should become a destination, and the more opportunities that can be offered to visitors once they get here, the better the promotions can be. An area’s infrastructure has become a great consideration for tourists.
Superintendent Kirk Sitterud encouraged all board members to compile a list of questions or concerns and the answers will be addressed. The school district cannot afford to take on anything that needs funding on their part. Johansen stressed the need to study all impacts on the district.
Business administrator Ross Huntington presented the bids that were received for the district roofing projects. The board approved to award the roofing contract to Clark’s Quality Roofing. This project has a definite deadline of August 15. The board awarded the contract for garbage pickup in the district to Emery Sanitation. Huntington explained that both companies from which proposals were received are very reputable and the proposals were lower that the previous year’s cost.
The board approved to hire Kory Larsen for the custodial position at Huntington Elementary. Other personnel items addressed by the board were: to accept the resignations of two teachers, Genet Orme and Jamie Olsen; granting a request for early retirement for Karon Williams; and appointing personnel to serve on the Huntington Elementary safety committee.
Superintendent Sitterud read a letter from Patti Harrington, state superintendent of public instruction. The letter read:
“It is with pleasure that I congratulate you and the Emery County School District’s financial and statistical teams as recipients of the 2004 Excellence in Financial Reporting Award and the 2004 Excellence in Statistical Reporting Award presented by the Utah State Office of Education. As you are one in only five of all districts in the state to receive this recognition, you may be proud of the contributions made by every person involved at both the school and district levels whose timely and accurate work has made these awards possible.
“The certificate is being presented to the business official from your district at the Utah State Association of School Business Officials conference on March 21.
“Please extend my appreciation to your staff for their dedicated contribution to public education,” wrote Harrington.
Superintendent Sitterud said Huntington had been present at the meeting and picked up the award. Huntington said, “I want everyone to know that the financial and statistical teams consist of the secretaries, the computer techs, Jon Crawford, Kerry Allred, Jackie Allred, and myself. They have all worked very hard to win this award. For three years in a row we have won both categories.”