To the Editor:

The Aug. 23 John Day City Council meeting has brought a lot of confusion after Councilor Heather Rookstool made the statement that she’s found a pool company that will come build our community a pool for $2 million. What she failed to do was give any facts or actual information, which leads most people to ask how?

Is Anderson Poolworks going to move the dirt, dig the hole, pour the concrete for the deck, build the fence around the pool, do the construction work for the locker rooms and reception area? What about electrical or plumbing, and of course all of the finish work? And parking? All of this for $2 million?

When asked by her fellow council members the details of the supposed proposal, Councilor Rookstool had no answers. While she couldn’t answer a single question, she did manage to give the illusion to the public that if they voted no on the upcoming ballot measure that we’d still get a pool.

So I decided to call Anderson Poolworks to get the details myself. What I discovered was that the pool company was completely misrepresented, and Councilor Rookstool was not honest or truthful with the company or with the public. Councilor Rookstool’s $2 million pool only includes the pool with mechanical equipment; not two locker rooms, a family room and a reception area like she claimed last Tuesday.

Bob Pereira was right, there is misinformation coming from the city and it’s coming from Councilor Rookstool. Public officials have a responsibility to their constituents and the public to provide factual information with supporting evidence. No one owes her an apology, but Councilor Rookstool owes this community an apology for her continued and deliberate attempts to mislead the public.

If you want a pool, vote for the pool that’s on the ballot. Don’t be fooled into believing there’s another option as Anderson Poolworks told me myself, there’s not.

Susan Pearce

John Day