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Dearborn’s Crowley Pool May Open Next Week

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.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 at 7:08 am and is filed under Around Town, City Hall. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • http://www.networkdearborn.com Dave Bowman

    Excellent! Thanks to the S.O.P. movement for keeping this on the front burner.

  • Michael D. Albano

    Nice to hear and let’s hope it happens…

  • pdmom

    The SOP group is doing a wonderful job. We have a great city and wonderful people who care about preserving our neighborhoods, which are the heart and soul of Deaborn. Thank you SOP!

  • rick

    O’Reilly and Orner were told of the potential damage last year, but felt they could save money by putting the repairs off, and now they have blown up in their faces — another nice job for the O’Reilly team.

  • Marge

    Thank you SOP! It’s amazing how things can change when a group comes together to question the decisions made at the top. When word first came out about the pools closing it was presented as an absolute MUST. Many were led to believe we had no choice because of the terrible cost of maintainance.
    The pools are very big part of Dearborn neighborhoods and thankfully, the neighborhoods know this and took the right action to make the decision makers rethink their decision. Too bad there wasn’t time for this kind of feedback on trash cans before the big check was sent for these enormous trash cans than only a family of ten might find useful.

  • Happy Here

    It’s wonderful that the pools have been saved (for now, at least) … but what will we have to give up in order to keep the pools? Surely something else will have to be cut from the budget.

    As for the garbage cans … it has been explored for almost 2 years, tested in one neighborhood for over a year, and if your neighborhood association is active in the DFNA, they were aware of it and had many opportunities to provide feedback on it. I and my family of 5 are thrilled about the new cans.

  • Donna Hay

    Happy, if I had a family of 5 I would be thrilled with the new carts to. But for those of us who have 1 or 2 people in the family they are just way to big and bulky and not necessary. The mayor keeps saying that in the area where the carts were tested the program was very successful. I would like to hear from the residents of this area. What about the people that will not use them at all?

  • Dearborn Observer

    Hey, Donna Hay, perhaps those with small households can consolidate with neighbors and just use one giant trash/recycling bin for two or more households. That will mean fewer stops for the trucks.

  • Donna Hay

    Hey Dbrn Obs. I can see it now they will be fighting over who has to store it, then who will be in charge of putting them out and then you used all the room and there is no place for me to put my garbage. Next it will be people with large households will want a dempsey dumpster to share with their neighbors because there is not enough room for all their garbage. This could go on forever.

  • pdmom

    The whole thing is ridiculous. Because one part of the city did not participate in recycling and did not have the decency not to litter, they spend tons of many to change something that wasn’t broken. Absolutely ridiculous. You know what, my kitchen functions fine but it’s old and I could use a new one, but money is tight so I will wait. And I’m not going to try to fit and huge number of cabinets, and oversized appliances into the same small Dearborn kitchen. Does any administration put the same common sense logic that we use every day to work when they make decisions like this? I think not. It’s maddening. Then they threaten to close the pools, lay off teachers, police and fired. And this must be a pet project of the Mayor’s or he would not be so rude when someone asks a questions. Or maybe he would, I have not figured that out yet.

  • Lisa

    The recycling cans alone are worth it. They accept so much more than the previous, and are far more convenient. This will really help Dearborn move in a greener direction.

  • wassamattau

    Earlier I read here that 40K was set aside for issues at Crowley Pool for this year. If they are spending $8,600 on repairs what is going to happen to the rest of the money? Can’t it be put aside to help resolve future issues at Crowley?

  • Marge

    I realize this commentary is to be on the Crowley Pool article, but I can’t resist another comment on the garage cans. I was told today that the cost of the cans and their delivery was 12 million. Is that possible?
    As for the recycling, I think the new cans will be used far less than the current red box. The current box can be kept in a breezeway, mudroom, even a large landing or basement. That makes them so much more accessible for residents. I find it hard to believe people will be motivated to walk out to the garage with an empty milk gallon or tuna can and I don’t know anybody who wants another trash can in their Dearborn kitchen. I’m wondering if there is any turning back on some of these costs before we actually begin to use the giant trash cans.

  • cornerstore

    Marge,

    My red recycling bin in located inside the garage right outside the kitchen door.
    The answer is simple. I plan on keeping the red bin, filling it up and transferring it when full to the green container. I plan on recycling more than I currently do because of the increased capacity.

  • Happy Here

    pdmom – just curious about this: “And this must be a pet project of the Mayor’s or he would not be so rude when someone asks a questions. Or maybe he would, I have not figured that out yet.” When was he rude? And to whom? And about what? Maybe I missed a comment or article that this referred to?

    On the garbage can issue. As I recall, the large investment in the cans is spread out over time and the contract overall will be less expensive because the trucks to pick up these cans only require one person, reducing the cost billed to the city. The cans will also reduce the rat problem and provide visual continuity.

    Second, as far as the recycling bins … the orange bins are too small, if people were recycling everything that can be recycled, they would have full bins and almost empty trash cans … we don’t recycle paper because I can’t fit it in our orange bin. We will be putting a small tub under the sink that will be taken out to be dumped into the recycle bin each night. I suspect that we will only produce one bag of garbage each week now that we can recycle properly with a larger bin.

    As for the fact that the bins aren’t ideal for singles or couples … no solution will work for everyone … for years I have been unhappy about, but worked around the limitations of the orange recycle bins.

    Have all you with complaints taken your questions and concerns to city hall or the mayor? Or have you just griped here to your neighbors? If it’s that upsetting to you, do something about it! Tell people who can actually do something about it.

  • pdmom

    Happy: Have you not attended or watched the Council meetings? You should. Perhaps you will see what so many others see. If you watch last week’s meeting, a woman got up to talk about the new cans and was talked over and down to by the Mayor. He also, in my view, did not respond to her in a polite manner, as he should as the Mayor of the city she has lived in and supported for so many years. For that matter, if she was a new resident, he should be speak more respectfully. He also did not address her concern but continued to defend the program. We all have different expectations of our elected officials. Perhaps some of us expect to much, but I see no reason to lower the bar.

  • Donna Hay

    Happy, just watch the mayor at the council meetings when someone disagrees with him.

    As for the carts, yes I have written the mayor and a couple of council people and was asked to try the carts for a few weeks and if I still want a smaller one I can request one. This was repeated at the last council meeting. As for one person on the truck I read in the paper that if you have additional trash a second truck will follow to pick that up. Now what are they saving? You end up with 2 men and 2 trucks instead of 2 men and 1 truck. At least the new carts are bringing me some enjoyment, everytime I walk into my garage I take a look at them and just laugh.

  • Happy Here

    I’m not a fan of the Mayor, but I’m don’t have a problem with him either. I have never attended or watched a council meeting. I have always dealt with the Mayor and city council members directly, either by phone or in person, and I always try to do it in a one-on-one situation … although we have not always agreed, I have always felt respected in all of my interactions with all of them.

    Donna, the second truck will not have to stop at every home because the garbage bins are designed to hold a lot and therefore even larger families will rarely have extra trash. It will be able to cover a greater area because of this. There will be a huge reduction in how many men are necessary.

    But ultimately, what can the Mayor say to anyone’s concerns on this issue? The truth is this … the contract was signed and the cans delivered based on the votes of the city council members that all of us voted into office. The citizens of Dearborn like to cry and whine about how their government sucks and how no one listens to them and that their elected officials do whatever they want without any regard for the citizens or the budget or anything else … but the citizens of Dearborn vote the same people into office over and over and over again! The discussion of the garbage cans is over … the DFNA gave its opinion (most in favor, a few indifferent, and a few against) about the cans, the city council voted … the cans have been delivered, it’s happening and nothing is going to change it because like it or not the citizens of Dearborn voted for it when we put our council members into office.

  • Donna Hay

    Happy, its still a second truck so why not just put 2 people in one truck? From what I have heard from the east end ‘pilot area’ they started out with 1 person in a truck and it wasn’t long before there were 2. I guess time will tell.

  • Happy Here

    The fact is that the price of the city’s contract with the new company is based on what they do or don’t pick up … not how many people are in the truck and the new contract is cheaper because the new company anticipates fewer men being needed in the truck. The new contract is cheaper than what Waste Management was willing/able to do. Yes, the numbers sound big, but it’s a several year contract for an entire city … and it’s still cheaper than what we were being offered by WM.

    Besides, it was never just about the $ … the carts will reduce litter fluttering out of the orange bins and lidless trash cans making our neighborhoods cleaner … the lids on the carts will keep out rodents and hopefully reduce the rat problems in some parts of Dearborn.