This is part 2 of a 3-part series.

KIMBALL -- In the April 2 City Council meeting, the council approved to re-instate a Pool/Recreational Center Committee that was previously assembled.

The City Council originally formed a Kimball Pool Committee in 2023 looking at revamping the existing pool due to the need for repairs and updates. 

The three planning strategies they outlined in a Kimball Pool Study were: Repairing the different elements of the pool that need to be addressed, installing a new pool to replace the existing pool while adding a waterslide and play structure, or constructing a completely new facility. 

Instead of replacing or rejuvenating the existing pool, the new committee will plan to build a whole wellness center that will include both recreational and wellness amenities. 

Council Member Christy Warner has been in favor of this idea for quite some time, so after the students presented it to the council on March 19, she felt it was a good time to re-visit the plan. 

Warner says a wellness center would help the Kimball community thrive by keeping the current residents happy here or encouraging people to come back in the future. 

“As our community has downsized, we have lost a lot of important quality-of-life items,” Warner says. “If you don’t have those, the next generation doesn’t want to come home, and if you lose your next generation, that’s how the population dwindles. 

The other aspect of population growth that Warner mentions is attracting new people to town. There needs to be more than job incentive for people to come to town because it's easy for them to live in the neighboring towns and commute to Kimball for work. 

“We need people to actually move into town, which would increase your tax basis, which would ultimately lower everyone’s taxes because the more houses that are built, the slice of pie for taxes gets smaller,” Warner says. “We just look at the expense, but we forget about the indirect revenue that comes from it.”