Councilman Ernest Bobbitt, who made the motion to pull the matter from the agenda, said after the meeting he believed the city needed to see how the theater issue panned out before council considered a budget amendment that would fund the $275,000 necessary to replace and install the broken dehumidifier, as well as cover engineering and contingency costs.

“It's not a dead issue,” he said, describing the decision as a postponement.

City Manager Joseph Scherer said after the meeting, however, that closing the facility was a possibility because of the low water temperatures in the winter months.

City Finance Director MeLinda Hite had prepared a budget amendment that was contained in this evening's agenda packet where financing of the dehumidifier would have not required any debt payment.

The budget amendment said $220,000 could be taken from the Roanoke Rapids Theatre lease payment line, while $55,000 could be taken from the privilege license line item.

City Parks and Recreation Director John Simeon said following the meeting, “What this means is I will be meeting with the engineer to see how this will affect the day-to-day operations. I sincerely hope that for the benefit of the users that this facility would remain open.”

Simeon said, however, according to conversations with the project engineer, the air temperature of the center must be kept 2 degrees or more higher than the water temperature to minimize the humidity and condensation within the building.

Currently, he said the water temperature is at 78 degrees. “As we enter the fall and changing weather conditions, we may have to close the doors until it is resolved to protect the facility from moisture damage to the wood I-beams and roofing system.”

Simeon had no comment on why he thought the matter was pulled from the agenda and referred that question to council members.

The aquatic center, Simeon said, has over the years been a popular facility, both for therapeutic uses and school swimming teams.

Since the issue with the dehumidifier, he said, “The city's administration has received numerous phone calls and letters on why they felt it is necessary to them to have the facility. A majority of the letters and phone calls pertain to swim teams and therapeutic classes.”

The affect on swim teams, Simeon said, is, “I think it will mean they will not be swimming in Roanoke Rapids. They will most likely have to practice and schedule their meets elsewhere.”