There was no question Tuesday night that most of the crowd assembled at the City Council meeting wanted more than a swimming pool.
They wanted a complete recreation center with racquetball courts, a walking track and saunas. To prove their point, many of the crowd blew off a little steam of their own."If you want a rec center too, then stand up," one woman said. The room erupted and nearly everyone in the crowd were on their feet.
The crowd's exuberance ended with the council and mayor voting 5-1 in favor of adding a year-round city swimming pool and recreation center to the November ballot.
But there was still some concerns expressed about moving ahead without all of the information.
"I don't go to just one place when I want to buy a car," another woman said. "We need to look at more than one option."
There was also a quiet moment when it was mentioned that a maximum option package to finance a new recreation center would include an annual 52 percent city tax increase. A homeowner with a $50,000 home would end up paying an additional $52 annually.
On the minimal option, however, homeowners with a $50,000 home would only pay an extra $29 annually.
The City Council was presented with a petition from the Citizen's Committee for a Swimming Pool and Recreation Center with 2,462 names in favor of putting the recreation center on the November ballot.
A special bond election to fund a community swimming pool failed to pass earlier when only 17 percent of American Fork's registered voters showed up for the July 3 election.
The City Council now has until Sept. 24 to come up with a final draft of the swimming pool/recreation center question to present to the voters on the November ballot.