Council weighs waiving rules to speed pool repairs ahead of Memorial Day

Council members raised urgency on Feb. 18 to repair several city pools and asked whether the council should waive rules to approve contracts on first read, citing tight timelines for having pools ready by Memorial Day.

Administration said the contractor that won the bid already maintains parks and recreation facilities and that the pools are ready to be worked on; staff said it is possible to proceed without waiving rules but that waiving could give a one-week tolerance to begin work sooner. A council member sought a draft of the performance-evaluation criteria that would govern payment for performance contracts; administration said it has begun a review of larger performance contracts and would work down to smaller ones.

Council members expressed differing views on whether waiving the rules is warranted for these contracts given that pool openings are predictable; administration said it was an ask rather than an absolute emergency and that it would proceed with contracting if funding is approved. The pre-meeting transcript records discussion and questions but does not show a final vote or result on waiving the rules.