Rather than push it...

...we just got out.

It probably doesn't matter to most readers, but this post is for the few of you that might care (at least a little).

A few years ago, I was talked into returning to Bay City to coach club and high school swimming. Part of the "deal" was that an interlocal agreement between Bay City ISD and The City of Bay City would mean a renovation of the run-down outdoor pool.

I was shown plans and artists renderings.

I was impressed - and gullible!

The plan would have given us a building over the entire facility, an upgraded pump room, a repaired deck, new plaster/tile, new starting blocks, new diving board stand, new lockers, etc.

What taxpayers got for their money was a joke. Most of the renovation was never completed. Most of the work that was done was shoddy.

To add insult to injury, they topped things off with a $1,700 plaque with the names of city and school district officials responsible for the debacle. It was shameful.

I stewed for a while, then raised a little hell - even started to investigate the scam. I eventually gave up and started looking for another place to hang my hat. It all worked out for us, but the good folks we left behind are still suffering with an unsafe, unreliable facility.

What brings me back to this subject? It turns out that a guy named Eric Schroeder* has been after some of the same individuals that were part of the pool scam. Read more here.

In 2008, Bay City resident Eric Schroeder and the Matagorda Advocate each filed Open Record requests for the release of copies of credit cards bills and receipts for Bay City Mayor Richard Knapik, Bay City Community Development Corp. Executive Director D.C. Dunham, City Attorney J.L. Ziegenhals and consultant/contractor Jerry Naiser.

While I'm not sure what Schroeder's after, I'm hopeful that, somewhere along the way, he'll discover the underhanded dirty dealings that went into the pool project.



* If he's the guy I'm thinking of, Schroeder was a real thorn in Mayor Knapik's side at council meetings. At one meeting I attended, Knapik actually turned his chair 180 degrees and sat with his back to him while the man spoke during the open forum of the meeting.