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Session 1918 May 3, 2004 managing facilities. Ms. Brungardt said that perhaps the money saved through the Midwest contract, averaging $9,426 per year, may not offer a valuable trade-off. Her own experience with out-side services were that they can become a "headache" and she prefers to keep things as they are. Councilmember Brot suggested charging more for swimming lesson without changing the pool management. She supports Midwest Pools being required "to give preference to" being part of the contract. Mr. Ollendorff said that this measure is not about raising money, but about providing better supervision and management of the pool operation. When he approaches the Council he must see that the new proposal shows where the money comes from or how the contract will even save money. This issue is not about saving money, but securing a more professional supervision and management of the pool. He said that he would make certain that the contract is worded firmly, so that University City Human Resources Department specifies who gets hired; that it will be a requirement. He is happy to include suggestions and accept criticism, but asks that they defer to the City Staff in managing the operations of the pool. Ms. Brot asked if the Park Commission voted to support this measure and why, and the City Manager said that they received the same information as the Council had, including the report from the Director of Parks, and that they, too, wanted residents to be hired and to know that staff would not be lost. Mr. Sharpe said the Council really did not have to discuss this issue, per se, because the City Manager has the responsibility to manage the pool. He said the current discussion was actually focusing upon the City Manager's management style, when the actual decision was to determine which company should be hired, as the best bidder. He said he did not necessarily agree with having a management team, but that the decision was the City Manager's to make. Mr. Sharpe said questions raised had been answered, and whether or not it is a good or bad idea is not the issue. Ms. Colquitt said that she does not favor the lifeguards being part of a "pool of employees" who can be sent to other pools to work. Mr. Ollendorff said these were excellent points and will be included in the contract: to hire or maintain current University City lifeguards, to guarantee them job security, and to assure that they would not be transferred to another pool. Ms. Colquitt wondered if another staff person could be hired to supervise pool staff, in- stead of hiring a pool management service, and Mr. Ollendorff said that such a person would come with less expertise than Midwest Pools, and that the main point was hiring Midwest Pools for their expertise. Page 13