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Martinsville City staff report pool leak, equipment failures and summer event plans
Summary
City staff told officials the pool has an undiagnosed leak under the liner, a new freezer was purchased after repeated failures, and staff outlined summer events and staffing changes; no formal votes were taken on repairs.
Martinsville City staff told city officials that the municipal pool has a leak under the liner that cannot be located until the pool is drained, a freezer at the park concession stand was replaced after repeated failures, and staff have lined up summer events and temporary equipment while addressing staffing gaps.
Ashley (Staff member) said the pool’s freezer “went out” after repeated service visits and the city replaced it because “we just had to replace it so we could get our products ordered.” She told officials the pool’s refrigerator is “not doing great either” and likely will need replacement next year.
Ashley described a leak in the pool’s dive wall and said a leak-detection specialist determined the leak is beneath the pool liner: “We just know currently that it’s under the liner.” She said the city cannot know the full extent of the damage until the pool is drained at season’s end.
On daily operations, Ashley credited staff member Luke for time spent “in the filter room” and keeping chemicals balanced with a new liquid-chemical system, while noting the main pool remains the most difficult to maintain. She said the splash pad has been open every day without problems.
Staff reported other maintenance and park improvements completed or in progress: disc-golf tee pads have been installed; damaged beams in Shelter 3 were replaced; playgrounds at the park and at Mulberry have been remulched; and the hill mower was repaired. Ashley said new hires are starting to take over duties: “Eli started last Monday. He’s already got a lot of things accomplished. He’s cleaned out the shop.”
Ashley said the city has been using a temporary landscaping contractor, Maxwell, to maintain North Mulberry, Victory Park and Doris Daley while the parks department was short-staffed; she said those duties will be returned to city staff once staffing stabilizes and that Maxwell may continue maintaining the “venue.”
On events, Ashley said the city applied for a homeland-security permit for July 4, ordered porta-potties and golf carts, booked food trucks and hosted three concerts at the venue in May. She said a short segment filmed for Indy Now, featuring her, the mayor and the parade organizer, will air June 26. Planned events include an adult-only swim on June 20 and a family dance and movie night on June 28.
Ashley also described problems with a recently purchased website vendor that lacked an expected point-of-sale system; the city purchased Square terminals to process concessions sales. She provided a Square sales report for May 1–June 16 and said revenue is down from previous years because poor weather depressed opening-weekend attendance.
No formal council action was taken on repairs, replacements or event permits during the meeting. Ashley said the city will “talk to the water department to see what we can do” about the pool leak and that more precise repair options and costs will be known only after the pool is drained.
For now, staff continue daily maintenance and event preparations while tracking potential utility and repair costs related to the leak and other equipment failures.
