As reported in the Jan. 17 edition of the Seminole Producer, a bond election for the purpose of building a new sewer plant is likely to happen before the end of this year.

City Manager Steve Saxon last Tuesday told the Seminole Utilities Authority that “we to rally together and build a new sewer plant” and the city is about six months away from calling a bond election.

That same evening, the Seminole City Council, which also acts as the utilities authority, tabled a proposal to hold another, separate bond election to fund the construction of a new swimming pool.

“I’d like to voice my concerns,” Mayor Jeff Griffin said as he announced the agenda item to the council. “We just had a discussion about the sewer plant, and we don’t know what it’s going to cost us. I think it’s a little bit early. I just don’t think we can afford both if it comes in at a high amount,” he said.

Councilor Bill Wantland made a motion to table the proposal, which was met with unanimous approval.

“I move that we table this matter. I will leave it up to city officials to determine when to bring it back,” Wantland said.

The decades-old pool, located in the Seminole Municipal Park, suffered a catastrophic failure in 2017 and repair estimates ranged from $1.3 million to nearly $2 million.

In 2019, Griffin formed a committee tasked with making a decision to either renovate the existing pool or start from scratch. The committee opted for the latter and has explored the possibility of constructing an aquatic park near the Reynolds Wellness Center.