Response to Letter to the Editor regarding swimming pool rates

Former Waukon mayor Dwight Jones has submitted this Letter to the Editor:
 
"In response to the recent Letter to the Editor regarding the cost of pool admissions –

I was the mayor of Waukon for 8 years and thus went through 8 city budgets.  During that time I learned that of all "money losers" for the city, the pool was by far the biggest.
 
The cold hard truth is that the expense to run a pool gets higher by the year.  Upkeep, repairs, wages, etc… all increase every year, so the fact that a slide was removed doesn't change those things.  As a pool ages, parts get harder to find, thus increase in cost.  It's inevitable that admissions will need to go up to keep up with those rising costs.
 
So, I understand the question, but hope I have shed some light on how the finances work when operating a pool.  My guess is the City of Decorah still loses tens of thousands of dollars per year on paper by operating it's pool, but continues to operate it as a community service.

If the cost gets too high, at least those of you that live in Decorah have a river that runs through town, and the last I checked it doesn't cost a dime to swim in it."