Peru pool committee will not hold public meetings – for now

The Peru municipal pool committee meetings will not be open to the public — for now.

Chairman Rick O’Sadnick updated Monday the Peru City Council, explaining the committee had met twice briefly, once as an introduction and the second time reviewing past reports.

Afterward, Alderman Tom Payton asked if the meetings were open to the public.

“Not at this time,” O’Sadnick said. “You know down the road we’re probably going to open them up, but just as we get started, we’re not trying to hide anything obviously but we’re trying to get to know each other first and get a direction to where we want to go.”

In December, O’Sadnick told Shaw Local News Network “Once we get started, all open pool committee meetings will be publicized and all will be encouraged to attend and make their voices and suggestions heard.”

City Clerk Dave Bartley said in response to an online public comment questioning the legality of the committee that the committee doesn’t violate the Open Meetings Act.

“It’s worth noting that the two aldermen serving on the committee does not violate the Open Meetings Act,” he said. “There isn’t a requirement for that. It’s commonly used within the city ... it’s a tool that’s used in the city from time to time when there’s planning or organization and getting public input from various projects.”

Mayor Ken Kolowski announced Nov. 25 he had chosen O’Sadnick, Alderman Andy Moreno, Parks and Recreation Director Adam Thorson and referendum originator Sherry Mayszak to be a part of the committee. Peru resident Christine Mitchell, who is the former manager of the Spring Valley swimming pool, was added to the panel in December.

An advisory referendum passed in November, asking residents if the city should construct and operate a municipal swimming pool funded by the use of the hotel/motel tax.

The pool committee will focus on cost, location and design by looking at construction of a municipal pool from the ground up.

O’Sadnick said the committee isn’t starting from scratch as a lot of work has been done since the old pool has been taken out; including work back in 2020 and 2021 seeking bids and feasibility studies.

“So, it’s only been a couple of years,” he said. “So that’s kind of what we’ve been doing so far — reviewing past reports, existing data, reaching out to those same firms asking them to pull those files and please update them.”

O’Sadnick said the meetings have been productive and the committee will keep ”plugging along," but nothing has been decided.