Tecumseh schools seek public input on pool roof repair financing options

TECUMSEH — With cost estimates prepared for fixing the roof at the community pool, Tecumseh Public Schools officials are looking at financing options and want input from residents.

Repairs to the roof of the Tecumseh Memorial Community Pool are expected to cost about $2.5 million, district operations manager Joshua Mattison told the board last week. The work could be completed in three phases, starting at the end of the 2024-25 school year.

To pay for the work, the board at its meeting April 8 discussed the merits of asking voters to approve a bond proposal that would be only for the pool roof project and a sinking fund millage that could be used for the roof and other maintenance projects in the district.

A bond proposal could ask voters to approve paying 0.4 mill over 10 years, or $40 per year for property with a taxable value of $100,000, to pay for the roof repairs. A sinking fund millage of 2 mills would collect $200 per year on a property with a taxable value of $100,000; a 3-mills levy would collect $300 annually on that same property. Voters would have to reapprove a sinking fund millage periodically, just like they do now with the nonhomestead operating millage.

The district has posted an online survey asking residents how likely they would be to support any of those three options. The survey can be found at surveymonkey.com/r/9D6JQHJ.

Some school districts in Lenawee County have sinking fund millages. For example, the Clinton and Britton Deerfield districts each levy about 2 mills for their sinking funds.

Tecumseh has a millage for pool operations, which helps pay for the day-to-day operation of the pool. The district levied 0.2463 mill for that tax on the summer 2023 tax bills, or about $25 for property with a taxable value of $100,000. The district also budgets $60,000 from the general fund for pool operations. Fees also are collected for open swim, lap swim, water aerobics and swimming lessons. The Tigersharks youth swimming program also has participation fees.

The district closed the pool for about two months last fall after an initial inspection of the roof, which was done to see if it could hold the weight of new dehumidification equipment, showed corrosion on the roof’s steel structure. A closer inspection by engineering firm SME of Plymouth showed the corrosion was not as bad as initially thought. SME told the district it could reopen the pool but recommended starting to make repairs in the next one to two years, Mattison said Monday. SME has continued to work with the district and has sought bids for the initial work.

Mattison recommended starting Phase 1 at the end of the 2024-25 school year. That would allow the district to work on the $800,000 in capital projects already planned for 2024-25 and line up funding for the pool work.

Phase 1 of the pool roof work is expected to take about 12 weeks to complete and cost about $800,000, Mattison said. It would involve draining the pool; removing the soffit, drop ceiling and ductwork along the north wall; cleaning and repairing the steel roof structure where it meets the block wall; replacing the ductwork and drop ceiling; and cleaning and refilling the pool. If the work started June 1, 2025, it would be completed around Sept. 1.

Phases 2 and 3 combined would take about six months to complete. Phase 2 would cost about $1.1 million and involves draining the pool; removing all of the drop ceiling; sandblasting, sealing and coating the steel roof framing; and replacing the dehumidification system and remaining ductwork. Phase 3 would cost about $750,000 and involves replacing the steel roof decking, insulation and roof materials.

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Mattison recommended adding a 10% contingency fund, making the total project cost about $2.5 million.

The administration recommends asking the community to approve a bond, Superintendent Rick Hilderley told the board Monday. He said the board also could look at increasing the pool operations millage in order to eliminate the district's $60,000 subsidy. He said pool fee revenue has increased since Sarah Eubanks returned as the pool director.

Trustee Greg Lewis said the community likely would support 0.4 mill for a bond, though as a taxpayer he views a sinking fund as more financially responsible because it would give the district funding dedicated to maintenance projects. Board Vice President Lynne Davis said she agrees with the concept of a bond and thinks the community would understand the need to repair the 35-year-old building, while trustee Becky Brooks said they would need to explain why the current pool millage is not enough to pay for the roof repairs. Board President Tony Rebottaro said he's heard from some people that the district should just close the pool, but he said that still leaves the district with a roof that's in poor condition and is attached to the middle school.

Trustees Jacob Martinez and Mary Tommelein said there is a large number of people who use the pool outside of physical education classes and swim teams who likely would support a millage. Tommelein said the board heard from many of them when the board closed the pool in September.

Davis suggested asking voters for the bond to pay for the pool roof repairs as a way to show the district can manage that kind of project. If that is approved, the district can complete that project and then use that success to promote a sinking fund millage.

Hilderley said the district has until May 18 to decide whether to place a $2.5 million bond proposal on the Aug. 6 ballot. Because of the relatively small amount, he said, it does not have to go through the state Treasury Department's prequalification process. Trustee Tim Simpson asked for confirmation of that timeline.

— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh schools seek public input on pool roof repair financing