Du Quoin will use off-season to find $105,000 pool solution

Mayor Rex Duncan said Thursday he and members of the city council and park board will use the off-season to find a solution for a pricey repair at the Du Quoin Municipal Swimming Pool. Time is catching up with the aging pool, which needs to have the bottom replastered. City engineers J.T. Blankinship estimate the work on the entire pool at $105,000. Replastering the floor of only the deep end would cost about $45,000. The work will not be done this fall. Instead, Duncan said he hopes a funding source presents itself over the winter and the money will somehow be worked into next year's budget. Duncan said that while at least one of the city's equipment loans expires in the near future, he would rather not borrow money again to make the repair. In the absence of a park district with a tax base, the city and park board may have to come up with a way to raise revenue based on different fees paid by in-town vs. out-of-town pool users.