Unclear waters

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Story Published: Nov 18, 2008 at 10:12 AM PST

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 4:53 AM PST

By Stephanie Smith

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ASOTIN – The Asotin County Family Aquatic Center continues to be on the minds of Asotin County commissioners.

Commissioners had to make a decision Monday on whether to go with just pool covers for the inside pools or to invest in covers for the water park as well.

"What they are supposed to do is save us money both with utility costs and chemical costs. The problem now is we don't know for sure how much of the facility is going to be open and what days it is going to be open or anything like that," said Commissioner Doug Mattoon.

The money for the covers is from a specific fund that is only for capital improvements, not for paying down debt or operating costs. Since the sales tax increase failed, the future of the center is up in the air.

"Our single largest expenditure at the facility is labor, right off the top," said Mattoon. "The second biggest expenditure is utilities and so the pool covers give directly to that issue. I'm doing some speculating, but if we decided that we would just shut down the outdoor completely and not use it at all, and open the indoor on a much more restricted schedule, part of the problem there is, if we open it one day a week, for instance, our utility costs are still the same."

In the end, the commissioners approved buying just the covers for the inside pools and not for the outdoor water park.

In other county news, Financial Officer Kelly Dougherty presented a monthly financial update. Dougherty said sales tax revenue is down from last year. The good news is, she said, unlike the trend statewide, Asotin County has not seen a significant increase in late and delinquent property tax payments.

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