Friends of the Rutherford Pool at Tuesday's Ypsilanti City Council meeting. (L to R) Don Ferris, John Weiss, Lisa Wozniak and Heidi Salter-Ferris

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

The effort to save and rebuild the Rutherford Pool took another significant step forward Tuesday night.

The Ypsilanti City Council approved a memorandum of understanding between it and the Friends of the Rutherford Pool. The memorandum will allow the group to establish an Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation fund for the pool. With the fund, the Friends can now collect $170,000 in committed donations it currently can’t receive because it has yet to establish itself as a federal nonprofit.

The city also will employ the pool’s staff - though they will be paid by revenues generated from pool receipts - which is important because it gives the operation governmental immunity. Without it, the Friends say they would have been unable to insure the pool.

Council approved the memorandum unanimously. The Friends are trying to fully fund a $600,000 rebuild of the 40-year-old facility and continue operating it in the future without any cost to the city.

The main sticking point was city employment of the pool’s staff.

Attorney Heidi Salter-Ferris, whose husband and law partner Don Ferris drew up the memorandum of understanding on which council voted, explained why it was essential that the city be the employer of record.

The city receives governmental immunity, meaning in the event of an injury it can only be sued on grounds of reckless disregard, she said. If the Friends owned the pool and someone was injured, a party suing would only have to prove negligence.

She also pointed out that the city is currently employing the pool’s staff.

City Manager Ed Koryzno said he had several concerns with the arrangement. The city decided 10 years ago to no longer manage city recreation projects because of financial concerns, he said. He added that the city is facing serious financial issues in the coming years, and taking on any further financial commitment is a bad idea.

“I was thinking that we do not want to assume any more financial responsibilities given that picture,” he said.

He also said the city’s insurer said the city must take over responsibilities of training and hiring lifeguards to help reduce liability. Council Member Mike Bodary pointed out that Cathy Thorburn, who manages the pool staff, is already technically a city employee.

But Koryzno said she is a city employee “in name only … and doesn’t answer to us.”

When asked if a more formal position could be created for Thorburn that might satisfy the insurance companies, Koryzno said that "anything is possible."

Bodary said he spoke with Community Foundation president Cheryl Elliot several hours before the meeting and asked her point blank about omission of the employment language.

“She said she was very surprised about the change and said that it was dooming the friends to failure,” Bodary said. “She said it’s a mistake on the city’s part to omit (the language).”

Salter-Ferris said it was essential that the agreement be approved Tuesday.

“We would be left with this pool that all this time, money and effort went in to and we wouldn’t be able to get insurance to open it,” she said. “It’s also realistically required now if we are going to go to people and get money and fund raise. We need to give people assurance that when it's all said and done, the pool will open.”

Ultimately, council agreed, though Council Member Brian Robb said he would have been more comfortable with a memorandum of intent, which is a less formal document than a memorandum of understanding.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, the city most recently filed an application on behalf of the Friends for a $300,000 Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant, for which the Friends must raise $223,000 in matching grants. The actual cost of demolishing the current pool, rebuilding it and rebuilding the deck is $523,000.

The remaining $77,000 will go to a $25,000 endowment fund, $25,000 to a maintenance fund and various amenities. The Friends have raised the money without holding a major fundraiser, but on Tuesday will hold an event at Eastern Michigan University President Sue Martin’s house.

Among other stipulations in the memorandum, the Friends will provide a detailed business plan for the pool. The group has received Michigan non-profit status and applied for the federal 501c3 exemption, which is expected to be approved in 60-90 days.

The Friends also have pending grants for $10,000 with the Ypsilanti and $20,000 with the Youth Council funds of the Community Foundation, and the Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees approved a $10,000 donation on Tuesday night.

The city paid $12,000 in utilities for the Rutherford Pool last year and committed 180 staff hours, Mayor Paul Schreiber said. Per the memorandum, the city would contribute to utilities this year, but not next summer.

According to the Friends, the Rutherford Pool sees 17,000 visits annually, and 150 families hold passes. Daily visits during the summer range between 200 and 500.

“We’re ecstatic,” Friends member John Weiss said after the council vote. “We didn’t know how this would go, so we’re ecstatic everyone is behind it. This is a great first step in working together with the city.”

Weiss said the next step is for the group to focus on fundraising efforts. The Friends are asking that residents interested in attending the fundraiser at Martin's home RSVP by Friday.