Murky Waters: Greenwood panel delays decision on proposal for Freedom Park aquatic center

A Greenwood city board wants more time to review a proposal for how to pay for an aquatic center at Freedom Park and whether it’s allowed under state law.

The redevelopment commission decided to take time to consider more than four-and-a-half hours of testimony about the plan to pay for a $10 million pool with property tax dollars from the city’s two tax-increment financing, or TIF, districts.

Board members heard arguments about how a pool could lead to more economic development, about how it couldn’t legally be paid for with that money if it weren’t in either TIF district and about how any financial impact would be dampened by the proximity of Perry Pool and the outdoor pool at the Baxter YMCA.

They heard from five residents who said that the city sorely missed a pool this summer, that they were glad they wouldn’t have to pay a tax increase for a new swimming hole and that they were concerned with the size and westside location.

Clark-Pleasant Superintendent Kevin Caress questioned whether the proposal was a legal use of the money and the best use of money that traditionally goes to redevelopment projects. An Old Town resident who opposes the project asked if building a pool with TIF money would have any benefit at all or if it would just be a drain on the city’s resources.

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