By Elizabeth Reiss
Beacon reporter

Tax increases in Baltic appear to be inevitable if a proposal to build a swimming pool at Baltic Heights Park becomes a reality, city officials told a committee that is pushing to build a swimming pool.
The city’s Pool Committee organized an informational meeting at City Hall to discuss the proposal with the Baltic City Council. Pool Committee members present were Dave Haagenson, Ann Sittig, Marilyn Schmitz-Stadem and Marsha Polzin. Two Councilmen, Jason Pittmann and Jason Turner, also are part of the committee.
Supporters of the swimming pool hope that the city will help pay for the pool, estimated at $2.03-2.94 million, through either a bond issue or by opting out of the current municipal property tax freeze.
City property taxes in Baltic have not increased for 13 years, City Finance Officer Elaine Hendrickson said. Baltic has the second-lowest municipal tax rate in Minnehaha County, a result of the City Council avoiding tax increases whenever possible, Mayor Mike Wendland said.
“Is there ever a time where it makes sense to raise the levies so you can provide more?” Sittig, who leads the Pool Committee, asked the City Council.
The council has not voted or made any decisions except that they want to conduct a scientific survey to discover the level of support for a bond initiative and hold public meetings to hear all viewpoints before making any funding decisions.
“We definitely aren’t going to decide yay or nay until we have public meetings,” Wendland said. “We will get opinion back from those who have to foot the bill.” The survey and meetings have not been scheduled.
If a pool were built using city money, it would come from the general fund, Hendrickson said. A dollar amount has not been discussed.
The estimated cost of operating the swimming pool each year is $30-40,000. “We’d have to go through the budget and figure out where to offset that loss,” Wendland said.
A pool would improve the local economy and help allow businesses to increase their customers, provide opportunities for other businesses to open their doors in Baltic and would give kids something to do, supporters say.
“I’m simply interested in seeing more things happen in Baltic,” Sittig said. “Something to bring people in and hopefully bring businesses in.”
The Pool Committee will ask rural residents to donate money, Sittig said. The committee hasn’t started raising money because it wants to first know how much money the city will give, she said in an interview.
At the meeting, Councilman Calvin Whiting told the Pool Committee that several residents have told him the city should not fund a swimming pool because it is costly.
Former Councilman Doug Burns, who attended the meeting Wednesday, said asking for taxpayer money for a pool during an economic downturn is bad timing.
“I’m not against a pool, but if you’re talking about raising taxes, I think you’re going to see a lot bigger group of people at meetings,” Burns said.
Polzin mentioned that a survey conducted last May indicates that residents want a pool.
A citizen group, many of whom now sit on the Pool Committee, distributed the questionnaire, titled “Let Your Voice Be Heard,” that asked people to prioritize what future development they want in town. Choices, in order, were: swimming pool, update tennis courts, replace tennis courts with a new facility, bike path, upkeep of property and a blank area to write other ideas. Forty-six of 94 respondents ranked a pool as their No. 1 choice.