News Photo by Steve Schulwitz William Stafford does a cartwheel on a balancing beam at the APlex on Tuesday.

ALPENA — Residents of Alpena County and users of the APlex can soon share their ideas for a proposed expansion of the sports and recreation facility.

In July, the Alpena County Board of Commissioners voted to hire C2AE, a Lansing company, to formulate a design plan for an expanded APlex that would include a new community swimming pool.

The bid for the design service was $67,000, but the county is only contributing $3,200 because other groups have committed to paying the balance.

Next month, a survey should be available to the public, Alpena County Administrator Mary Catherine Hannah said on Tuesday.

She said public involvement is vital because, if the project moves forward, the final product should be something that benefits most residents in one fashion or another.

“We want the community to let us know what it is interested in and what it thinks is important,” Hannah said. “We also want to know what kind of uses they are looking for.”

While the survey will collect community feedback, Hannah said the county will form a focus group consisting of APlex users and community groups to get their ideas and input.

After the data from the survey is tallied and the input from the focus group is forwarded to C2AE, popular ideas will be brought to the community for design charrettes, Hannah said.

“We will invite members of the public to come, have them look at pictures, and get their input,” Hannah said. “Then there will likely be a second survey after the plan is defined a bit from all of the feedback we received. We desperately want all of the public feedback and buy-in for any potential project.”

Currently, the county-owned Plaza Pool at Alpena High School is largely subsidized with money from a countywide property tax for youth and recreation programs.

The existing pool is decades old and in need of an upgrade. On Tuesday, the pool was closed because of a pump failure, but the pool is expected to reopen when the needed repair is complete.

Hannah said in July that, if the APlex is expanded and a new pool is built, an authority to oversee finances and operations could be created, allowing the county to still remain involved in the decision-making process but not have full financial responsibility for the pool.

A host of local groups have banded together on a special committee that is spearheading planning and investigative responsibilities of the proposed APlex expansion.

Many groups represented on that committee have committed to the project financially.

Besides the county, other parties funding the design company include the Park Family Foundation, the Besser Foundation, First Federal Foundation, Friends of Plaza Pool, and others.

Alpena Public Schools is also involved and could help lend financial support for the construction portion of the project, but Hannah said the school system isn’t allowed to use education money for the design process because it does not directly benefit students.

The construction of the pool would benefit students, however, as that could allow school swim and dive teams and other student activities.

If a new pool is built at the APlex, the current pool would revert back to the school district.

The property near and around the APlex is owned by the Besser Co. and Hannah said there has been preliminary discussion about what the company would want in exchange for the project moving forward.

When the design plan is complete, officials will know the price tag for construction. Hannah said the committee leading the expansion effort has already begun researching where funding can be acquired.

“There is a state pool of money specifically for community centers and rec centers that we would be looking at,” she said. “There are several different pots of money specifically for this type of thing. We have feelers out.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com.