Our thanks for a memorable evening at the Hillsboro High School commons for the annual all-school reunion. Friends and family enjoyed meeting classmates and former friends.

A big "thank you" to the committee, Chamber workers, and Gordon and Vicky Mohn for fun and prizes. Panhandlers Catering certainly did well.

Ray and Aldina Franz

Hillsboro

City responds to pool policy criticism

Last week's Free Press contained a letter that was critical of the admission policy at the new Hillsboro Family Aquatic Facility.

We at the city have attempted to be forthright and open concerning the changes in policy at the aquatic facility. We welcome this new opportunity to further explain the need for the changes.

First, some misconceptions presented in the letter need to be corrected.

The half-penny sales tax was designated to pay for the construction of the new aquatic center. At the time of the election for the additional sales tax, the site of the proposed facility was widely publicized.

Operations of the pool, on the other hand, are not paid for, and cannot be paid for, by sales tax funds.

The new aquatic center is funded in the same manner that the old pool was funded-by a combination of admission and concessions and general budget funds. General budget funds are derived from property tax.

The nature of aquatic centers requires a larger financial obligation for operations than do traditional swimming pools. The additional features at the aquatic center require additional manpower to keep patrons safe.

The operation of aquatic facilities, such as Hillsboro now has, and traditional swimming pools cannot be compared equally.

This additional cost must be paid for in some way. The budget for our new aquatic facility for this year does not reflect an increase in the funds from the general budget (property taxes) over last year.

The difference is to be made up through those who use the facility. This includes admissions, concessions and programming, such as swimming lessons and other activities.

If cheap season passes were to continue to be offered, the choice for paying the difference in operational costs would fall to only property owners within the city.

The increase in admissions fees was done to continue the city council's long-term commitment to maintaining current mill levies on property owners in the City of Hillsboro. The difference in cost is then provided by those who use the service. The application of this sound business principal is altogether fitting.

City staff worked very hard to keep rates comparable to those in the past. Because of the increased value of the service provided, season passes at the same price as previous years could not be offered.

Early on, City staff rejected the idea of a $180 season pass, such as is offered by the McPherson Aquatic Center. In order to provide value to all families in Hillsboro, the current system of pool admissions was devised.

Daily rates have only increased for adults for this year. Discount packages that allow patrons to buy more than one entry at a time at discount rates were offered instead. In many cases, with the discount packages, families can use the pool in the same manner as in previous years at a comparable cost.

The letter from the previous week did not include information about this important item.

The staff at the aquatic facility can further explain the benefits of the discount packages. I invite everyone to stop in and have the helpful staff assist you in learning more about what the Hillsboro Family Aquatic Center has to offer.

The goal of the city council and staff has been to improve our community and the amenities offered by the city. The operation of the aquatic center still presents a learning curve for us as time goes by.

I would ask that we be allowed the flexibility to try some new things in our effort to improve services to you, the customer.

Steve Garrett

Hillsboro city administrator