The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

Any doubts about support for a new pool in Hartley were crushed Tuesday.

Voters in the City With a Heart overwhelmingly supported a $1.7 million bond issue that will partially finance construction of a new aquatic center. According to unofficial results, 84 percent of voters cast 'yes' ballots while only 16 percent voted against the measure.

Pool campaign committee spokeswoman Jackie Stoltz said the group was ecstatic about the big victory.

"The committee is really pleased with 84 percent," she said. "The committee felt that we had the community's support, and Tuesday's vote showed that we do."

Only 44 votes were cast against the measure compared to 228 ballots in favor. Hartley City Council Member Mary Westphalen said the bond measure's passage was a huge relief.

"I really thought that with what I heard in the community, even from the elderly people, they wanted their grandkids to have a pool," she said. "The people got out and voted yes because they wanted Hartley to grow."

Both Westphalen and Stoltz served on the pool task force committee charged with investigating a new pool. That group first convened more than five years ago, and Tuesday's vote marked the turning of a page.

"We'll be able to start getting bids now. It'll happen fast," said Westphalen. "This is my last term on the council unless I decide to re-run, and this is a project I wanted to see through and see happen."

Hartley's new aquatic center will be built at or near its current location in Neebel Park. The square footage of the pool will be comparable to the current one.

Once constructed, the facility will include a zero-entry play area with a family slide, four swimming lanes, deep water diving and swim area, basketball hoops and a volleyball net, new bathhouse, and a large deck area with shaded zones. It is hoped to be constructed and operable by the summer of 2022.

Westphalen said the 2021 swimming season may be shortened or cut completely depending on the construction timeline. Water's Edge, the engineering firm overseeing the project, will be able to develop more

precise plans now that the bond issue has passed.

Stoltz noted time is of the essence.

"We're trying to proceed as quickly as possible because if we wait, the prices on everything will go up," she said. "We can move forward now, and hopefully we'll be ready to open in 2022."

The rest of the pool's estimated $3 million price tag will come from donations and grants. More fundraising events will be announced in the months ahead.

"The committee is excited to start pushing onward with this project," Stoltz said. "We just want to thank the community as a whole. Those who came out and voted, the businesses that have made donations and supported this...we're thankful."

Westphalen was proud of Hartley for investing in its future. Several issues at the current pool have worsened in recent years, and inspectors determined the 63-year-old facility is nearing the end of its functioning life. Key parts like the heater and pumps are on their last legs and the city council has noted it isn't interested in paying for more repairs at an obsolete facility.

"We need something for our community to draw people into our town," said Westphalen. "We need to grow. We have a lot of young families and they need things like this. The rural people around here couldn't vote, but I know they support it, too."

Westphalen was confident the new pool would be utilized by families from the surrounding area and looked forward to cutting the ribbon.

"They're going to come. It's new, and it's going to be exciting," she said. "This is something the community supported and they came out for it."