Although Smithville aldermen voted to to pay the Langley and Taylor Pool Corporation the $13,649 it still owes on the $83,649 bill for repairs made to the city swimming pool this summer, all three councilmen present at the meeting voiced displeasure with the repair.
Final payment has been withheld by the city up to this point because officials say that Langley and Taylor, a Nashville pool company, has not fixed problems with the pool drains and lights that were not properly dealt with during replacement of the fiberglass coating of the pool with ceramic tile.
When asked for his opinion on the matter, city attorney Vester Parsley said that if the city does not make the final payment, they risk a lawsuit in which the city might lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys fees.
Parsley told the council that, upon review of the contract, he believes that the city may not be able to hold the repair firm responsible for some of the problems, as they were not specifically included in the agreement.
Parsley voiced the opinion that the city might have more luck paying the bill and seeking recourse through the three-year warranty on the repair, since correspondence from Langley and Taylor’s law firm revealed that if the matter is taken to collections the city could be held responsible for the poll companies legal fees.
"On Sept. 6 I received a correspondence from their attorney asking about why we hadn't paid,” Parsley told the board.
“I wrote a letter about the things that needed repair and explained to him that we wouldn't be paying anything until those repairs were done. I got an email last Thursday from the attorney for Langley and Taylor asking what the city intended to do. He wrote that the company had someone come up and do those repairs.
“I called Hunter (Hendrixson) and he said that he (Hendrixson) and Kevin (Robinson) had been over there and everything looked okay,” Parsley continued.
“There were cracks in some tile. We do have a three-year warranty that says they will warranty their work for that period of time. Based upon what Hunter said and the communication I had with the attorney for Langley and Taylor, I would recommend that the board go ahead and pay that balance. their contract.
“There might have been some things that slipped by us but if they're not in the contract then we can't hold them to it. My recommendation would be to go ahead and pay them.
“They do have a provision in there that if they have to seek collection they could collect their attorney fees," Parsley said.
Alderman Steve White made it clear that he is not pleased with the work and Langley and Taylor’s failure to fix problems with the pool that he feels the company caused while doing other repairs.
White said that the pool now overflows at the the deep end and the lights are going out one-by-one since the repair was done.
The lights were apparently not included in the contract, but were working before the company removed and re-installed them while placing the new tile.
“I was actually over there when they were shooting the grade on the drain, White said.
“I asked him how it was, and he told me that it was an eighth-of-an-inch off, which is about as perfect as you can get for an area that big.
“But after we filled the pool back up,” he went on, “It’s off by like an inch-and-a-half on that one corner, which would consist of pulling the tile back off and taking a layer of concrete and building up that one corner, then laying the tile back down.
“They took out what was there and now what they put back isn't working properly,” White continued. “This has never been an issue before. With the actual drain covers, they pulled them off and when they put them back they didn't put all the screws in them or in some cases they put screws in them and broke the screws off and left the broken-off screws.”
Pool tenant Tony Poss said the lights have not been worked properly since Langley and Taylor finished the job.
"All the electrical lights that go in the sides of the pool have all quit working,” Poss told the aldermen. “The pool company did pull the lights out and installed them back. I've been told they're supposed to have a sealed beam in there to keep the lights on so they will work. They're shorting out a GFI box and that's kicking the breakers off. I just want them or whoever to fix it," said Poss.
Alderman Danny Washer made a motion to make the payment to Langley and Taylor to avoid a lawsuit.
White seconded the motion with reservations, and Shawn Jacobs also voted to pay, but said he, too, was of the opinion that the repair was not adequately done.
 Aldermen Gayla Hendrix and Cecil Burger were absent from the meeting.
In other business, White asked that the city obtain estimates for making the pool handicapped accessible to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The pool must comply with ADA requirements by next spring.
The options discussed were to purchase portable chairlifts, or to modify the kiddie-pool area to create a graded entry which would slope gradually into the pool.
Alderman White also asked that estimates to expand the restroom facilities at the pool be obtained.
The aldermen approved White’s motion to keep the pool filled and circulating year-round to keep algae from and leaves from  staining the sides of the pool.
Mayor Taft Hendrixson said that he is in favor of keeping the pool filled, but questioned the need for continual circulation and the electric bills that will follow.
The aldermen approved on second and final reading an amendment to the city code giving full-time employees three new paid holidays.
The new days off include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the day after Thanksgiving and the Friday of the Fiddler's Jamboree.
Water plant manager Todd Bowman reported that the floor at the renovated plant is still not up to expectations.
“The floor people are supposed to be there on Dec. 19. W&O has hired some different people to come in to re-do the floor. These people have said they can get the floor right and make it look like we want it to look," Bowman said.
Police Chief Randy Caplinger told the board that a holding cell has been added at the police station to contain prisoners until they can be processed and transferred to the county jail.
“We had a prisoner who recently got out of her handcuffs and got away,” Caplinger said. “We picked her up within just a few minutes.
“We do now have a new holding cell. It has been approved and you're welcome to come and look at it," said the chief.