NEBRASKA CITY – In 2011, when its baby pool was shut down due to leaks and disrepair,  Nebraska City officials were told a new aquatic center would restore revenue and bring in visitors to Steinhart Park.

On Monday, Parks Commissioner Patrick Wehling said, for the first time, the new aquatic center appears to be paying for itself.

The pool subsidy was $35,000 in 2011 and ranged around $50,000 in most years, but the aquatic center finished its 2022 season with revenue and expenses both forecasted around $204,000.

 

Wehling credits pool staff, the concession stand manager and sustained swimming weather.

Wehling: “This will be the first year that we’ve been zero subsidized, which has always been my goal as parks commissioner, to try and come in and make that happen.”

City Administrator Lou Leone and Wehling said filming of the movie Snack Shack at the pool also added excitement.

Wehling: “Yeah, that all helped with the awareness of the pool and getting people there. The filming, of course, helped, but overall I think it’s just been a great group effort with all the employees.”

The plot of the movie itself is believed to have something to do with the city’s profits from the pool's concession stand and it appears that the city’s 1991 accounting aspirations are finally showing up in the checkbook.