Cameron looks for long-term solution in pool management, approves bid nearly triple the original contract

The Cameron City Council seemed reluctant to approve a contract with Midwest Pool Management to once again oversee the $4.7 million Cameron Aquatic Center. 

With few options, and other bids coming more than $100,000 over the lowest bid, the Cameron City Council unanimously approved MPM’s most recent bid, which is nearly triple the price offered when MPM began overseeing the Cameron Municipal Pool in 2020.

“I’ve had several park board members call me, and they’re concerned about the timeline. They don’t think we have time to rebid it. We don’t really have any other options … Maybe it’s not the best option, but it’s the only option,” Cameron City Councilwoman Julie Ausmus said. 

Last month, the Cameron Park Board expressed similar concerns after receiving Midwest Pool Management’s $84,965 bid to manage the Cameron Aquatic Center, which nearly triples the original $32,200 bid to manage the pool in 2021. The bid seemed especially galling to members of the audience, considering MPM gained notoriety in Cameron after a pair of alleged incidents prompted harsh criticism from Cameron residents during multiple Cameron City Council meetings last summer. The first involved an alleged plan to hold a protest regarding the US Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe vs. Wade during the July 4th Free Swim, which pool managers later said was a joke misinterpreted from a group text. The second incident involved a mother posting on social media about her daughter seeing a transexual female’s exposed penis while showering nude in the women’s locker room. 

“There are a lot of misunderstandings in all of this. There is an awful lot that was not put in the bid (in 2022) that should have been put in the bid. That way there can be clarity between the park board and MPM, which I think would be nice for all of the people paying for this. They way, if that turns out to be that figure, at least they would apply. Right now, they don’t. And I think that is an injustice to the taxpayers, the city, for us to allow that to happen,” said Councilwoman Becky Curtis, who added many of last season’s lifeguards will not return if MPM manages the pool and require an entirely new staff this summer.

One idea floating around the Cameron City Council and the Cameron Park Board is the city taking over management of Cameron Aquatic Center in 2024. During Monday’s meeting, Cameron Park Board President Matt Arndt described the concept as a hopeful thought.

“A lot of the kids that will not come back this year will come back, if the city takes it. I did have a manager willing to take it, but she didn’t think the city was taking it so she decided she wasn’t going to … Believe it or not, the park board knows that I’m doing this. They know I’m looking into this and were onboard before I called,” Curtis said.

 

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