ThisWeek CW 12/4/2014
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2014/12/01/pool-management-will-cost-4000-more-in-2015.html
A quirk of the calendar means Canal Winchester will pay more to operate its swimming pool next year, according to a proposed new contract with Columbus Pool Management.
Public Works Director Matt Peoples presented Canal Winchester City Council with a three-year contract renewal at the Nov. 17 meeting that reflects a 3.1-percent increase in costs for 2015 because there is an additional week between when the pool opens on Memorial Day and when it closes near Labor Day.
According to contract documents, the cost to the city will be $121,000 in 2015; $119,150 in 2016; and $120,310 in 2017.
Finance Director Amanda Jackson said that overall, the 2015 price is $4,000 more than Canal Winchester paid this year.
Councilwoman Marilyn Rush-Ekleberry said she understood the increase is related to additional operating days, but was concerned about language in the agreement that mentioned potential increases related to insurance costs. She said she also is concerned about the city’s own liability in case of a claim.
“It looks like they carry about $20 million in liability insurance, but I think that’s all of the pools they manage, and it said the insurance rates could go up in 2015,” Rush-Ekleberry said. “That sounds like a lot of money, but if we had a catastrophic problem, would that be enough and does the city have an insurance policy that would pick up the rest?”
Law Director Gene Hollins said the $20 million is “per occurrence.”
“This is the same contractor we have used for several years, so we should have a copy of the insurance and I can see how it is broken down and show that to you,” Hollins said.
“The other reason that’s a good question is that I should give you a sheet on what the city’s liability insurance looks like — because if they get sued, we’ll get sued, and there’s an indemnification so they kick in $20 million first before our liability kicks in.”
Rush-Ekleberry asked what happens if those insurance rates do increase in 2015.
“I think they priced it based on current insurance premiums, so if they go up more than 10 percent, then we could negotiate a price with them (Columbus Pool Management) and decide if we want to keep going with them, or find another provider, or go back to running it ourselves,” Hollins said.
Peoples said one final issue his staff is working on is related to the city’s pool-pass software.
He said Columbus Pool Management “has done a very good job for us, and we haven’t had any problems with them other than the pool-entry software system, because they no longer support our software package. We’ve had some problems with it as well, so we need to look at changing that.”
Council is expected to vote Dec. 15 on the ordinance to authorize the contract with Columbus Pool Management.