NEWS

Midco pool use irks project donors

Joe Sneve
jsneve@argusleader.com

Boosters of Sioux Falls’ new indoor aquatic center aren’t happy with how the city is putting the $24 million facility to use.

Since opening, the city parks office has installed a policy not to commit any of the newly-opened Spellerberg Park building – including the Olympic-sized pool – for anything other than public swimming and lane rentals.The Midco Aquatic Center was billed as an economic driver that would draw swimmers from across the region for special events and swim meets. But so far there’s nothing on the calendar to draw much outside business.

That’s not sitting well with Sioux Falls resident Brandon Maddox, one of several parents of Sioux Falls Swim Team members who helped raise $350,000 to make the Midco Aquatic Center happen. Maddox, who personally donated $10,000 for the fundraising effort, said this week the swim team made the contribution to the city with the expectation it could host competitions and other events there.

“They’ve reneged on that and won’t confirm that there would be any swim events there,” he said.

But according to City Hall, there were never any guarantees made to any group or donors regarding pool usage. And Parks and Recreation Director Don Kearney said Thursday the money put toward the project by the swim team, which paid for a Daktronics scoreboard and other competition-related equipment, was a gift with no strings attached.

Liam Reese does the butterfly stroke during practice for the Sioux Falls Swim Team at the Midco Aquatic Center on Thursday.

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“They agreed to provide the equipment to us and they gifted it to the city. There is no condition for using the facility in return for providing that equipment,” he said.

That didn’t stop the Sioux Falls Swim Team, however, from advertising an upcoming meet as being held at the Midco Aquatic Center. But since the city has stayed firm on its policy, the meet has been relocated to Augustana University.

That’s not to say sanctioned swim meets won’t take place at the Midco Aquatic Center in the future. Kearney said the city is using the first few months of operations to gauge how much demand there is for community use, monitoring attendance and keeping tabs on which of the facility’s features are the most used. Sometime in early 2017 parks staff will go to the drawing board to determine what kind of programming to implement at the aquatic center.

“We’re also not offering our own swimming lessons until after the first of the year. We’re doing it ourselves with our own programming – starting slow, easing into and after the first of the year we’ll do more,” he said.

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But Maddox said that’s only costing the city – and taxpayers – money. An outdoor meet this summer brought more than 700 swimmers to the Frank Olson Park pool. A regional meet at a brand new indoor pool would bring even more, he said. And at $10 a swimmer – the rate the city intends to charge during competitions – that’s not insignificant for a public facility that’s expected to cost more to run than it brings in.

“Everyone in the state was coming to Sioux Falls to see the new facility and now that it’s been moved to Augustana, they’re all dropping out,” Maddox said. “It’s asinine.”