The City of Plymouth may dip into its Rainy Day Fund to keep the Dr. Susan Bardwell Aquatic Center open, but there’s still some question about whether the city can legally do that. The city council agreed Monday to take up a $150,000 additional appropriation request at an upcoming meeting.
Council Member Robert Listenberger said that should get the facility through the end of the year. “We have to give it this boost,” he said. “It deserves one shot at this, at least. We can consider this down the road for 2022, as we’re doing that budget, in the hopes, high hopes, that between now and then, we find a solution for long-term.”
But Clerk-Treasurer Jeanine Xaver was concerned that the language of the ordinance that established the Rainy Day Fund might not allow the money to be used on properties that aren’t owned by the city. City Attorney Sean Surrisi, on the other hand, believed there was a way to structure the payments to fall within allowable uses.
The Aquatic Center opened in late 2019, but the company that had been set up to handle most of its day-to-day operations reportedly backed out around that time, prompting a lawsuit and a number of temporary arrangements. Now, with leftover project money set to run out next month, a group of city officials has been working on ways to move forward.
The issue of where specifically the $150,000 would go is complicated by the Aquatic Center’s complex organizational structure. Surrisi explained that it’s owned by Marshall County Life Center, Inc, which is affiliated with the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation. Marshall County Health and Wellness, Inc. has the master lease and then subleases it to Dr. Susan Bardwell, LLC, which was created to handle the day-to-day operations when the original company pulled out.
Complicating matters even further is the fact that Dr. Susan Bardwell, LLC is technically owned by Surrisi, the city attorney. “I promise you I don’t have any financial stake in it and profit interest,” Surrisi explained. “I only took it on because Marshall County EDC was the sole member of that LLC when we created it as a stopgap measure when Rick Miller breached his contract, and once Marshall County EDC was no longer willing to keep serving in that role, I stepped up and said I’ll take the company and keep all the balls in the air.”
That would mean any contract the city would enter would likely have to be with Marshall County Health and Wellness, the master lease holder. Meanwhile, the next court hearing in Marshall County Health and Wellness’s lawsuit against Miller is scheduled for next Tuesday.
