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Shepherdsville advances aquatic center and park projects; council hears RFP, budget and operating plans
Summary
City officials reviewed construction progress for the aquatic center and related park projects and discussed three responses to the pool operations RFP, projected operating costs and how loan payments will be covered.
Shepherdsville officials reported progress on the city's aquatic center and multiple park projects on Jan. 13, and said they have received three national proposals to operate the new aquatic facility.
The discussion centered on construction milestones, how the facility will be managed and how the city expects to cover debt service and operating shortfalls. The mayor and staff said the city will use occupational-tax revenue for the loan payment and expects third-party management to run daily operations.
Mayor Jose said city staff are reviewing three proposals and will interview finalists in the coming weeks. "We're actually going to put an operational line and put money in there," Jose said, describing a budgetary cushion the city will create to cover any first-year operating gap.
City staff and council members said the window to accept proposals closed and three national operators responded; interviews are planned once staff finish answering vendor questions. A staff member said the proposals ranged widely in scope and one submission exceeded 200 pages.
Officials discussed projected operating costs and attendance. Council members and staff described roughly a $1,000,000 annual operating budget as the planning baseline and cited a working attendance figure of about 100,000 annual visits for modeling revenue. Mayor Jose and staff said sponsorships and partner commitments already identified will help reduce any gap between revenue and operating costs.
Financing for the broader set of projects was discussed separately from pool operations. City leaders said the loan payment for capital borrowing is expected to be covered from occupational-tax revenue and other city revenue streams, not by pool operating receipts. "That's what they were looking at: do your taxes and your revenue now, is it going to be able to pay that loan back?" Jose said. He and staff emphasized the pool operation is being budgeted to approach break-even on operations, not to service the capital loan.
Construction updates covered the aquatic center steel delivery and timeline: staff said they expect steel to arrive mid-to-late February and construction to show the structural "skeleton" by March. Staff are also evaluating third-party proposals for day-to-day operation; the mayor said interviews with finalists will occur within weeks and a management decision could follow in about 30 days.
Council members asked for access to the RFP responses; staff said the council will receive the proposals and supporting documentation for review even though the contract decision will be made administratively. Officials said they will provide more detailed operational projections to the council as vendor interviews conclude and negotiations progress.
Officials said the pool and park projects are part of a broader downtown and park build-out that includes a town square and amphitheater, and that several complementary assets (pickleball, skate park, splash pad) are scheduled through the next two years.
