Prop SWIM Passes in Park Hills!

On this morning after the election, I would like to thank the community for their support of “Proposition Swim”. I am very overwhelmed and humbled by the community's large support for the building of an aquatic center for the citizens of Park Hills. The YES votes tallied 72% of the total votes cast on this issue. It definitely can be called a landslide decision. 

This morning the first steps were made to begin the building process. Our city attorney has been in contact with Gilmore and Bell, who manages our bonds and I have been in contact with Stifel Bonding, the group that will be selling the bonds to fund the aquatic center.  

Now that Proposition Swim has been funded, there are several steps the city must take. While the Proposition Swim Committee has recommended Brockmiller Construction as the general contractor, the builder for the new pool facility has not yet been officially accepted by the city council. The city will now advertise in the newspaper, as required by law, for submissions for the construction of the pool facility. Once that is done and the final plans are reviewed by the council, a company will be awarded the contract to construct the Columbia Park Aquatic Center. The old pool and pool house will be demolished this summer and construction should begin this fall. We are hoping to celebrate a grand opening on Memorial Weekend 2023.  

I am still looking for any and all available grant funding to help offset some of the cost of this project. Grant monies will help lower the cost to the citizens by paying the bonds off earlier. 

I would like to thank Adam Bowers, chairman of the Prop Swim Committee, and all the committee members for attending all the meetings and for their hard work in helping to make the Columbia Park Aquatic Center more than just a dream.

City Administrator

Mark McFarland