The elimination of the time ….

The elimination of the time when the pool is closed and shifting adult swim will prevent situations where patrons are currently being kicked out of the pool. This will also address some staffing concerns.

In addition to proposing changes to the pool hours, city staff along with aldermen Mike Bub and Christine Weix proposed opening the pool to rentals.

Under the terms of the plan, groups or individuals would be able to rent the pool from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a maximum of 20 rentals allowed per year with the choice of renting either half the pool or the entire pool. In either case, the pool would be closed to the public, but it would impact the number of lifeguards who needed to be on duty. The fee would include the cost of the lifeguards, and additional chemicals as well as any additional cleaning required.

“We were really surprised, everybody rents out their pool except us,” Bub said, citing a recent survey done of regional municipal pools. He proposed the city give pool rentals a try on a limited basis this summer.

“It allows a new way to have church or youth event or some kind of fundraiser,” he said. He noted that while some have it rented out to 9 or 10 p.m. they are proposing to only rent it to 8:30 p.m. because of visibility.

Aldermen Greg Knight noted a big question in his mind was allowing alcohol to be served at the private rentals. “I could see some downsides to having that,” he said.

Mayor Mike Wellner said the limited time of 6 to 8:30 p.m. would help with some of the concerns over alcohol use, noting it would be different if they allowed rentals to go late into the evening.

Other unknowns included the actual fee the city would charge. This was due primarily to the city not having set the pool staff wage schedule for the coming summer.

“It sounds like most of you are OK with the special events,” Wellner said, suggesting that the council act on the pool schedule that night and that they bring the rental procedures back with recommendations to a future meeting.

Aldermen agreed and unanimously recommended adopting the new hours. It will go to next week’s city council meeting for final action.

In related action, aldermen voted to boost pay for pool and summer help even higher than staff recommendations in an effort to remain competitive with other local employers.

City coordinator Joe Harris had proposed a wage scale that increased pool and summer help wages by 50 cents an hour with pool attendants going up $1 per hour. He noted they were having a hard time finding pool attendants at the lower wage.

“I think we will be too low,” Bub said, asking the city to compare the wages to what local restaurants are paying. “If I was a kid and could make $16 per hour or I could make $12.50 per hour, I would go for the $16,” Bub said, noting he felt the city’s rates for the summer help were too low. One area in particular is with the lifeguards, which require additional training and licensing as well as significant responsibility.

A question was asked how it compared to what the school district paid its pool staff for the summer. “It is identical to what they pay at the high school,” Weix said.

Roiger noted that being able to work outside is a better job for many than working in a factory or elsewhere and that if they are under 18 there are not many factory options. Bub said he was concerned the city needed to be competitive and keep an eye on what wages were being paid.

“The cost of things is going up and wages are going up, you can not like it, but reality sometimes smacks you in the face,” Bub said.

Wellner agreed and proposed increasing the recommendation from a 50 cent per hour increase to a $1 per hour increase.

“Do we have money in the budget for that wage?” Roiger asked.

Bub noted that in the total city wages, the increase was not that much and that the city had reserves to pull from. He made an amendment to the motion to adopt the proposed wage scale by an additional 50 cents an hour across the board. This would increase the wages by $1 per hour for lifeguards and other staff compared to last year and attendants would go up $1.50 per hour compared to last year.

The pay rates would be as follows: Head Lifeguard $14.50 per hour Assistant Head Lifeguard $14 per hour Lifeguard $13 per hour Attendant $9 per hour Public Works Summer Help $10.75 per hour Aldermen approved the increases, with it going to the full city council next week for final action.

In a final pool related action, aldermen approved increasing the rate for pool passes by $10 for families and $5 for adults and student yearly passes. Daily admission rates are unchanged. It has been a few years since the rate was increased with the city specifically not raising rates last summer.

Roiger noted that he liked having the chart comparing Medford’s rate to other communities.

Alderman Tim Hansen disagreed. “Why do we care, we are us,” he said.

In other business, aldermen:

_ Recommended approving changes to the election day contingency plans to add information about what to do in the case of a hazardous spill at the election site.

_ Continued its review and update of the city’s handbook revisions. This meeting addressed sections three and four of the handbook. According to clerk Ashley Lemke, they are updating wording to be more accurate and eliminating things that are no longer applicable. Knight questioned if there was legal review being done. Lemke responded that for areas such as talking about family medical leave they will run it through the city’s labor attorney for review.

_ Recommended approving the purchase of a 2022 bucket truck for the electric utility to replace an existing 2013 truck. According to electric utility manager Spence Titera, the city received two quotes for the truck with Utility Sales & Service offering a base cost of $224,331 minus a $60,000 trade-in for a final cost of $164,331.00. Drake-Scruggs Equipment had a base cost of $231,303 minus a $60,000 trade-on for a final cost of $171,303. Aldermen went with the Utility Sales & Service vehicle with an expected delivery date to the city of May 31, 2023. Titera said the delay is due to backlogs and production slowdown. “That is why we are making the move now,” he said, noting the truck they are replacing will be 10 years old by the time the new one arrives.