City pool once again at the forefront of debate at Corbin City Commission

The Corbin City Pool was once again at the forefront of a heated debate between Corbin City Commissioners during a special called meeting on Friday.

Commissioners voted 4-0 to approve a motion for a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to be advertised by City Manager Marlon Sams.

The RFQ is for architectural services for the assessment and renovation of the pool.

The Corbin City Pool is currently shutdown after a state inspection of the pool revealed several issues on Sept. 28.

The inspection states that before the pool can reopen repairs must be made to the main drain line, installation of a filter system capable of filtering at the approved filtration rate, and more.

Sams recommended a 14-day deadline for RFQ submissions, but Commissioner Trent Knuckles countered the recommendation asking for a 21-day deadline.

Responses for the RFQ must be within the approved deadline. Deadlines have to be at least 7-days after begin advertised, but the deadline cannot exceed 21 days. The Corbin City Commission votes to determine the specific number of days for the deadline.

Commissioner Allison Moore agreed with Sams that 14-days would be sufficient time, but Commissioners Brandon Shepherd and Knuckles both wanted a 21-day deadline to provide ample time for a number of companies to submit responses.

“It seems like maybe a pretty tight turn around,” explained Knuckles after Sams made his recommendation.

“You have got four or five major companies out there,” Sams responded.

“Why not just do 21,” Knuckles questioned.

Sams told Knuckles it was up to the commission to set the time frame.

Knuckles also asked who wrote the RFQ, and Sams told the commissioners that the company, Brandstetter Carroll, which completed the Splash Pad for Corbin, provided input during the creation of the RFQ on the pool renovations. The input from Brandstetter Carroll, along with some input from Sams himself, was used to draft the RFQ.

Knuckles asked if Brandsetter Carroll would likely submit an RFQ, and Sams said, “That is one reason that they didn’t send us an assessment yet.”

After the series of questions by Knuckles, Moore asked again about the deadline.

“Why 21 when we can do it for 14,” asked Moore.

“Because I think it gives the companies plenty of time to put together [submissions]. These are pretty detailed things,” Knuckles responded.

Corbin Mayor Suzie Razmus questioned the need for more time for companies to send submissions stating the RFQ responses include information about who the businesses are, what they have done and what their history is.

Moore said the companies likely to submit responses are professional and should know how to handle the process.

Knuckles explained that with a 14-day deadline, “All we would do is potentially cut down on the number of people that would apply.”

For a similar project, the splash pad, five companies submitted responses to the RFQ, during what he believed was a 21-day deadline, said Sams.

Knuckles made a motion to approve the advertisement of the RFQ for 21-days. Moore made a counter motion to approve the advertisement of the RFQ for 14-days.

Taken in the order made, Knuckles motion was seconded by Shepherd before resulting in a 2-2 vote – Moore and Razmus voted no, but Knuckles and Shepherd voted yes.

Moore’s motion also received a second from Shepherd and passed with a 4-0 vote.

Commissioner Seth Reeves was not present at the meeting.

In other business, commissioners approved the second reading of Ordinance 2021-13, which removes the written examination requirement for applicants, to the Corbin Police Department, who are Kentucky Pops certified officer and who meets the KLEC standards, and it removes the written examination requirement for applicants, to the Corbin Fire Department, who are Kentucky Fire Commission Firefighters at the paid level and who meet all requirements of the Kentucky Fire Commission or any other standards adopted by the fire department.