City Gives Bohn Pool slide plan green light - Dan Rodgerson

City Gives Bohn Pool slide plan green light

Attraction expected to open this year
By MATT CROSSMAN
Daily Telegram Staff Writer
ADRIAN—The investigation is done, the city commission approval earned.
The only question remaining is who gets the honorary first trip down Bohn Pool’s new water slide this summer?

“We assume Dan Rodgerson will be the first one down, and the mayor second,” said city commissioner Eric Sullivan.
But city attorney Dane Neilson already had the inaugural slide reserved.
“I told Kelli she could be the first,” He said.
Dan Rodgerson led the charge in persuading city commissioners to buy the $99,176 slide. He began investigating the purchase shortly after joining Adrian’s parks and recreation department as a recreation supervisor in the late summer of 1995.
Monaghan has helped Dan Rodgerson and community services director Mark Gasche develop a master plan to develop Bohn Pool into a “family oriented aquatic center.” The 144-foot long, 20.5-foot high is considered the focus of that effort.

In a proposal to city commissioners in November, Gasche said funding for the slide might have to come through financing.

But by rearranging priorities in his capital budget, Gasche said he can buy the slide using funds from the current budget year and next budget year. City staff felt getting the slide this year was important because it will help generate more revenue through increases fees.
“When we looking into financing there was some obstacles there,” Gasche said. “It wasn’t impossible, but it seemed more feasible to use our own money.”

City commissioner Chuck Chase and Gasche praised Dan Rodgerson for thoroughly investigating the feasibility of the slide, he said.

“I think it will really be a boom for Bohn Pool,” Chase said.

D. Rodgerson



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10/12/2011

The Big Plunge Adrian Waterslide Dan Rodgerson

The Big Plunge
Adrian staff proposes 140-foot water slide for city’s Bohn Pool.


By MATT CROSSMAN
Daily Telegram Staff Writer

ADRIAN—City commissioners took one step up the ladder Monday in moving toward initiating $500,000 in improvements at Bohn Pool.
They gave community services director Mark Gasche the green light to further investigate plans to install a 20-foot high, 140-foot long water slide at the city-run facility.

Plans include improvements to make the facility more family oriented. The daily youth rate would increase from $1.50 to $2.50 to help cover the cost of construction.
Gasche and parks and recreation program director Dan Rodgerson hope to have the slide up and running by spring of 1997, but commissioners aren’t willing yet to commit to that.

They’re still wary of how to pay the $120,000 price tag.
Gasche has set aside $40,000 for the slide and suggested two funding proposals, both of which would require loans. There was also discussion of using general fund dollars.
“It is significant to note that by financing the additional money needed to purchase a large water-slide, our operating deficit would be comparable to making no changes. By installing the water0slide we would have the benefit of this attraction, and, after the slide was paid off, we would see a marked improvement in our financial position,” the proposal for the slide says.
The water slide and other improvements are meant to try to increase usage of the pool which generally runs at 25 percent capacity; Rodgerson told the city commission during their Monday pre-meeting study session.

Rodgerson has been investigating the slide for more than a year. He oversees the operation of the facility, which would require additional staffing with the new slide. He also earned high marks for the successful launching of the city’s inline skating hockey league last year.
The pool typically runs a deficit of about $68,000 annually which the city has swallowed because the pool is considered a good community project.

Accompanying rate hikes for use of the pool would decrease the deficit to about $55,000 per year, Gasche said.



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10/12/2011

Readying for Summer - Dan Rodgerson

Ty Koty, From KP construction in Minnesota does some work monday on the new Waterslide being installed at Bohn Pool in Adrian's Riverside park. the grand opening of the 143 foot waterslide is June 14th.

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