At the same time, commissioners back away from Carters Lake
Gilmer County Commission Chair Charlie Paris was ready to move ahead with the county pool.
Bids have been let for the demolition of the current pool, and he wanted to go ahead and bid for the construction of the new pool, he said at a Feb. 12 work session.
Board Attorney David Clark reminded him the commission has not approved a pool design.
A special meeting was called Feb. 18vto approve the design of the new pool.
During an hour of discussion the pools changed from the designs presented to the board to a joint pool, back to a separate pool, then to the wading pool being totally redesigned.
Parks and Recreation Director Kevan White was told to return to Premier Pools to make the final changes to the design.
In the current phase, the main or recreation pool with have a diving well and eight lanes for swimming competitions which will be a standard 5 feet deep.
A wading pool will also be built which will have a zero-entry area sloping down to 4.5 feet where water aerobics can be held.
Paris said phase one is building the two pools, phase two is covering them and phase three is building some sort of splash pad.
Carters Lake
At the work session, Carters Lake Project Manager Miriam Fleming asked commissioners if any progress had been made toward the county assuming operations of some areas of Carters Lake managed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
Gilmer County has first right of refusal to manage the areas, she said.
Fleming said she is anticipating a 19 percent budget cut in the coming budget. She said without help or staff reduction, some areas would possibly be closed.
Cradle of Forestry, a conservation nonprofit, has approached her about operating a campground, Fleming said.
Paris encouraged Fleming to move forward if it would help her keep the areas around Carters Lake open. He said the county was only considering stepping in as a last-ditch measure.
“If we step in, it won’t be because we are trying to make any money,” he said. “It won’t be because we are trying to do anything other than leave these facilities open for the people of Gilmer County.”
Post Commissioner Hubert Parker agreed, saying the objective was to keep the areas open. If a U.S. Corps partnership with Cradle of Forestry would accomplish the goal, he was in favor.
Fleming said a partnership with the Cradle of Forestry would take away the need to cooperatively manage an area with the county for a while.