In an effort to get Dearborn’s Crowley Park pool open as quickly as possible, Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. last night authorized the spending of $8,600 to repair water leaks at the neighborhood pool.

The authorization to spend the money for the repairs, without seeking competitive bids, means the pool could open as early as next week, O’Reilly said. Longer term maintenance concerns with the pool will still need to be addressed.

In earlier stories here, the city said the damage to the pool because of water leaks was more extensive than originally believed. You can read an earlier story by clicking HERE.

Residents in the Crowley Park pool area should get their swimsuits and towels ready.

Dearborn Civil Service Commissioner Marjorie Powell will have to wait until at least Aug. 5 to learn whether the Dearborn city council will grant her request for an extension of the time limit to take the oath of office as a commissioner. (See earlier story, HERE.)

Dearborn City Councilman George Darany made a motion at last night’s meeting (supported by Councilman Robert Abraham) to simply approve the extension as more than a month has passed since the request was made by Powell. But his motion was defeated by a 4-2 vote with Tom Tafelski, Nancy Hubbard, Susanne Sareini, and Brian O’Donnell voting no. Mark Shooshanian was absent.

Following the meeting, Councilman Abraham said the whole issue surfaced because of “City Hall politics.”

“The memos sent back and forth should have been addressed to the “commission” or the Board of Ethics to review,” Abraham said.  ”It is disappointing that many have failed to recognize a perfect opportunity to do what is right without consideration political fallout. The Mayor, the Council and the City Clerk had over a month to gather information and discuss this issue with legal counsel, while Mrs. Powell waited with great patience. The moment to correct this mistake was last night when Marge publicly asked us to help her; 4 out 6 said “No” not now. There is no reason to make her wait until August 5 or thereafter; this is absolutely and totally ridiculous. To see politicians drag their feet when they know what is right and fail to act is the real problem (there are many examples in the news, including the BP spill). We need leaders now more than ever that can make decisions, and have the political will power to stand-up for the folks in town that need help, want help, and ask for help, and not tell them to wait until “we” have time to schedule a Study Session” in six weeks.

“Marge is a city volunteer and we should be treating her with dignity and respect. Let’s hope Marge will stay on-board after this mess, because as many of us already know service groups and volunteers are decreasing in numbers at a rapid rate. Marge cannot be easily replaced as some might believe. Thank you Marge for your many years of service! I look forward to working with you for many more years, too.”

Council President Tafelski said the Aug. 5 meeting will be a “study session” on this matter. Unfortunately, that meeting is not televised and does not take place in the council chambers. Instead, that meeting will take place in the council’s cramped meeting room. The meeting will be open to the public but you might want to bring your own chair or be prepared to stand.