The Sedalia Park Board met Thursday night at Convention Hall, and one of the items for discussion was the deteriorating condition of Liberty Pool.

Randy Kirby
Randy Kirby
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Parks & Rec Executive Director Amy Epple noted that the pool, which is nearly 20 years old, has foundational cracks in the bath house, which will cost an estimated $100,00 to fix. Another issue is an ongoing leak. The third is the pool appears to be slowly sinking on the east end.

“We have large cracks in the wall,” she noted. “We also have a drainage issue, where the water is coming down off the roof, and into the parking lot. And we're losing water and we don't know where. So over the summer, we had to fill the pool more than we should, because of that issue,” Epple told KSIS.

“We really need to develop a plan, get a structural engineer to come in and tell us what we can do and how we can fix it and give us solutions. Our pool is 20 years old, and the lifespan of a pool is 20 to 30 years,” Epple said. “Do we need to look at building a new pool or what? We need to know the right thing to do for Liberty Pool.”

The study will give the park board an expert opinion on their choices, Epple noted. “What is the best for our community? And how are we going to spend the taxpayers' money? We need to make sure we're doing that correctly and that we're not just putting a band-aid on it and having the same issues next summer,” she said.

Board member Jerry Case concluded that "we're at the beginning of the end of the life of this pool."

Another topic of discussion was the renaming request from the Grose family who lost their son Devon Blake Grose to a motorcycle accident in April of 2016 and wants a soccer field at Clover Dell renamed after him. The issue was approached two months ago and tabled. The request was withdrawn in August.

The family, along with their spokesman Travis Cooper, resubmitted the request Thursday night. But the request was ultimately declined due to it not meeting the stringent guidelines.

Epple read aloud the criteria to the board. She admitted that the renaming policy may need to be updated. She also noted that Mandy Thomas Field and Swezey Field were not officially adopted by the Sedalia Park Board.

Board member Megan Simon wondered aloud, “how do you do it for one and not for everyone?” she asked.

Board member Jerry Case noted that there aren't many soccer fields to be named at the facility.

“I don't feel comfortable voting for something that dosn't meet the criteria,” said board member Chris Stewart, who voiced her opinion on the matter before the board voted to decline the request. She quickly added that revisiting the renaming policy should be a priority for the park board.

The family left the meeting shortly thereafter.

The Sedalia Park Board approved a job description for a landscaper/arborist. The impetus for that is that a longtime landscape supervisor/secretary named Cindy is leaving in January. She currently works a 32-hour week. The landscaper/arborist position would offer a 40-hour work week at a salary of around $22,000. So request for proposals will be sent out in hopes of acquiring qualified applicants.

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