MONROE - If the 57-year-old Monroe Area Swim Team is going to continue, it may have to sign off on a contractual agreement to hold the city harmless in the event of a diving accident and lawsuit.
That was the message from Tom Mann, certified manager of liability with the Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company that represents the City of Monroe. Mann advised the Board of Parks and Commissioners, along with Juliene Hefter, a safety consultant and founder of Safety First Aquatics, on a joint conference call Wednesday at city hall.
Mann said the city of Monroe is self insured for the first $50,000 in a lawsuit. He advised the park board get MAST to sign a hold harmless contractual agreement to protect the city and transfer the risk to the swimming team.
"If you don't transfer the risk, you are on the hook and you have to use the city's $50,000 for defense," Mann said.
Dawn Mulligan, president of the MAST board, said the swimming team's insurance carrier wouldn't cover the team with the hold harmless contractual liability agreement. The swimming team has a $1 million certificate of insurance with West Bend.
"Our insurance won't cover us," Mulligan said of the additional hold harmless agreement being requested. "There is no one who will cover us. We understand the liability issue you have. It's a liability when you have a pool."
After a MAST member dove in and hit her head on the bottom of the pool and cracked her fourth vertebrae in practice earlier this summer, Recreation Supervisor Marge Klinzing prohibited competitive diving into the pool from raised blocks until more research could be done on pool depths. In August, the board tabled a decision on the matter and sought more information from other towns on water depth and the distances of the blocks from the water. The Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company advised a 5-foot depth for diving for competitive swim teams.
The park commission Wednesday agreed to study a plan by MAST leaders to change the direction of swimming for meets and will look into the cost if the park and recreation department took over the program. However, the commission is still looking into MAST signing a hold harmless clause to protect the city.
Altering the direction swimmers swim during meets and looking into park and recreation department taking over MAST were two of five options MAST has considered.
"If diving is the issue, if we can somehow overcome that, then maybe we can go along with something we have been doing," park commission president Bill Bethke said. "We certainly don't want to shut you out. We want recreation programs for everyone."
Under the plan that would change the direction of swimming in the pool for meets, the slide would be removed and a retractable diving board could be used for a 25-meter pool instead of the current 50 meters.
The National Federation of State High School Associations, which governs many of the WIAA high school swimming programs, advises a 4 foot or more standard for diving. However, the NFHS in April approved a plan calling for high schools with pools with water depths of 3 1/2 to 4 feet to have swimmers start in the water, rather than from blocks.
Water depths for the city pool vary from 5 feet in lane eight, extending halfway into lane 7. The other half of lane 7 is 4 feet, 11 inches until halfway into lane 6, where the water depth is 4 feet, 10 inches.
"The one we were banking on was changing the direction of the pool," MAST board treasurer Betsy Keith said. "If you want us to sign the liability agreement, we can't do it."
Commissioner Dave Gersbach said that he wants to get an estimate on the cost of removing the slide and altering the direction of swimming in the pool during meets.
"I think that would be the safest for kids and best for the program," he said.
If MAST became a park and rec program, Keith said, the board would dissolve and donate any money it has in reserve to another non-profit organization.
There is no participation fee to be on the swimming team. However, swimmers must have a pool pass. If park and rec took over the program, there could be a registration fee.
"That's an option we haven't explored," Bethke said of the park and recreation department taking over the swimming program.
Other options that have been considered are just swimming away meets, using in-water starts, deepening the pool and having some home swimming meets moved to either the YMCA, New Glarus or Monticello.
If there is an accident at the pool during public swimming time, Mann said, the city has recreational immunity. He said even in cases of recreational immunity, the city could have to pay out money in defense of a suit.
Paul Klinzing, the city's parks supervisor, said he received an estimate of $55,000 to $70,000 to deepen the pool from Badger Swimpools. The estimate includes engineering, state submittal, demolition of the floor, pipe replacement, concrete work and finishes. However, that cost doesn't include upgrading the filtration/ water treatment systems if required due to more volume, he said.
MAST officials say that participation numbers would dwindle if summer swimming was pushed inside and other towns have swimming teams and regular scheduled public swimming times set.
Marge Klinzing said she has contacted Monroe School District officials about making swimming a summer school program.
"I think the park and rec board has to determine what their next step will be so MAST can determine what their next step will be," Mulligan said.
That was the message from Tom Mann, certified manager of liability with the Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company that represents the City of Monroe. Mann advised the Board of Parks and Commissioners, along with Juliene Hefter, a safety consultant and founder of Safety First Aquatics, on a joint conference call Wednesday at city hall.
Mann said the city of Monroe is self insured for the first $50,000 in a lawsuit. He advised the park board get MAST to sign a hold harmless contractual agreement to protect the city and transfer the risk to the swimming team.
"If you don't transfer the risk, you are on the hook and you have to use the city's $50,000 for defense," Mann said.
Dawn Mulligan, president of the MAST board, said the swimming team's insurance carrier wouldn't cover the team with the hold harmless contractual liability agreement. The swimming team has a $1 million certificate of insurance with West Bend.
"Our insurance won't cover us," Mulligan said of the additional hold harmless agreement being requested. "There is no one who will cover us. We understand the liability issue you have. It's a liability when you have a pool."
After a MAST member dove in and hit her head on the bottom of the pool and cracked her fourth vertebrae in practice earlier this summer, Recreation Supervisor Marge Klinzing prohibited competitive diving into the pool from raised blocks until more research could be done on pool depths. In August, the board tabled a decision on the matter and sought more information from other towns on water depth and the distances of the blocks from the water. The Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company advised a 5-foot depth for diving for competitive swim teams.
The park commission Wednesday agreed to study a plan by MAST leaders to change the direction of swimming for meets and will look into the cost if the park and recreation department took over the program. However, the commission is still looking into MAST signing a hold harmless clause to protect the city.
Altering the direction swimmers swim during meets and looking into park and recreation department taking over MAST were two of five options MAST has considered.
"If diving is the issue, if we can somehow overcome that, then maybe we can go along with something we have been doing," park commission president Bill Bethke said. "We certainly don't want to shut you out. We want recreation programs for everyone."
Under the plan that would change the direction of swimming in the pool for meets, the slide would be removed and a retractable diving board could be used for a 25-meter pool instead of the current 50 meters.
The National Federation of State High School Associations, which governs many of the WIAA high school swimming programs, advises a 4 foot or more standard for diving. However, the NFHS in April approved a plan calling for high schools with pools with water depths of 3 1/2 to 4 feet to have swimmers start in the water, rather than from blocks.
Water depths for the city pool vary from 5 feet in lane eight, extending halfway into lane 7. The other half of lane 7 is 4 feet, 11 inches until halfway into lane 6, where the water depth is 4 feet, 10 inches.
"The one we were banking on was changing the direction of the pool," MAST board treasurer Betsy Keith said. "If you want us to sign the liability agreement, we can't do it."
Commissioner Dave Gersbach said that he wants to get an estimate on the cost of removing the slide and altering the direction of swimming in the pool during meets.
"I think that would be the safest for kids and best for the program," he said.
If MAST became a park and rec program, Keith said, the board would dissolve and donate any money it has in reserve to another non-profit organization.
There is no participation fee to be on the swimming team. However, swimmers must have a pool pass. If park and rec took over the program, there could be a registration fee.
"That's an option we haven't explored," Bethke said of the park and recreation department taking over the swimming program.
Other options that have been considered are just swimming away meets, using in-water starts, deepening the pool and having some home swimming meets moved to either the YMCA, New Glarus or Monticello.
If there is an accident at the pool during public swimming time, Mann said, the city has recreational immunity. He said even in cases of recreational immunity, the city could have to pay out money in defense of a suit.
Paul Klinzing, the city's parks supervisor, said he received an estimate of $55,000 to $70,000 to deepen the pool from Badger Swimpools. The estimate includes engineering, state submittal, demolition of the floor, pipe replacement, concrete work and finishes. However, that cost doesn't include upgrading the filtration/ water treatment systems if required due to more volume, he said.
MAST officials say that participation numbers would dwindle if summer swimming was pushed inside and other towns have swimming teams and regular scheduled public swimming times set.
Marge Klinzing said she has contacted Monroe School District officials about making swimming a summer school program.
"I think the park and rec board has to determine what their next step will be so MAST can determine what their next step will be," Mulligan said.
