News – Wednesday, July 31st, 2024

The Salem Parks & Recreation board held a workshop on Monday, July 29th to discuss ongoing updates on the city swimming pool, and discuss plans for the upcoming 3-5 years. The workshop was live streamed by Alderman Sean Bolderjack to the City of Salem, Missouri YouTube channel. Melissa Dubois provided the updates on the city’s public pool as follows: The pool is being repaired by a subcontractor working through WestPort Pools. (the company that installed the first liner/pool for the city.) As of this week, all the old, and damaged, material has been ripped out, and the company has started installing the new material around small fixtures in the pool. The material being installed will be a new and improved product. The workers are doing their best to “beat the heat”, working in the early hours of the morning and late into the night, so as to avoid working during the hottest part of the day. They do try to be as considerate as possible to the surrounding residential areas, and will cease working if they notice too many neighbors complaining about the noise. The estimated time of completion for the project from start to finish is about a month, as weather allows. The City of Salem Parks and Recs department announced on their FaceBook page that construction on the city pool began on July 15th. Melissa has not yet heard back in regards to whether or not this repair will be covered by insurance, and how much will be covered, if so. Once completed, the pool will need to be filled to capacity to ensure everything is in proper working order. The Parks and Rec board discussed whether or not it would be beneficial to have the pool open to the public, before having to winterize it. It was noted that many of the lifeguards are students that play sports, most of the managers are also teachers working for the district and it is likely that opening the pool to the public could cause a conflict in their schedules. There is also a cost associated with purchasing the necessary chemicals for safe swimming, and stocking the concession stand, that needs to also be considered. Before the board moved on to discussing their plans for the next 3-5 years, Melissa and Alderwoman Kayla Sisco stated there have been reports of people getting stung by wasps, yellow jackets, hornets etc. at the city park. She asked that if anyone notices these insects to please contact the City Administrator’s office and they will work on getting that taken care of. As far as the Parks and Rec’s wish list of executable projects for the next 3-5 years, they are all Capital Improvement plans. Some of the biggest tasks they wish to tackle include: Modifying Al Brown fields to eventually host qualifying tournaments, installing new tennis/pickleball courts, adding additional lights and cameras to combat vandalism at the park and Al Brown fields, planting more shade trees, and developing the Old Fairgrounds property. The board plans to release a survey to the public for input on what the citizens of Salem would like to see happen with the Old Fairgrounds. Board member Luke Heithold also suggested a survey go out to the youth sports coaches for input on what they liked/did not like in regards to that season, and if they would change anything moving forward. He also stated he would like to see more adult programs offered, such as volleyball or softball. Before the workshop adjourned, Board President, Carlos Lopez stated that going forward, Parks and Recs meetings will be held at the Civic theater. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 in the evening.

You are invited to attend the next Salem and Dent County meeting of “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” Monday afternoon, August 5th, at 5:30 in the evening at the Salem Community Center@The Armory! “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” is an international non-profit 501(C).(3) organization that builds, assembles and delivers new beds to children in need, who do not have a bed. The Rolla Chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace is already helping to provide new beds to children in need in our Salem community, and efforts are underway to start a Dent County Chapter. They are looking for volunteers if you are interested! For more information, contact Patti at 703-964-6495. You can also e-mail Patti at patti.mckeown@shpbeds.org.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced last Tuesday $19 million in new grant and loan awards to 32 properties across the country under its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP). These grants and loans will support significant energy efficiency and climate resilience renovations in more than 4,260 homes occupied by low-income individuals, families, and seniors. The awards include $1.5M for properties in Iowa and $1.5M for properties in Missouri. The total funding awarded under this program to more than $773 million, serving 20,752 homes. HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs Ethan Handelman announced this new funding last week Tuesday at a press conference at Plymouth Square Village in Detroit, Michigan.