Adrian recreation department cuts worry residents - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Shelly Nieto has two grand kids that love to swim at Bohn Pool, a popular Adrian summer hangout.  She worries closing it could hurt families that can't afford other recreation centers.

"It'd be hard if they didn't have the pool to go to," says Nieto.  "I don't think there are many families around that are able to pay the money to the Y(MCA) to use that pool, there's a lot of people that use that in the summer time."

That's the reality for Adrian residents, thanks to increasing costs and shrinking revenue. More than a hundred people came to Wednesday night's meeting to learn exactly why their recreation department is on the chopping block.

"it's not a city spending problem as much as people would like to think," says city administrator, Dane Nelson.  "It's really funding from the state along with a reduction of property values."

City parks wouldn't be affected, but city leagues, pools and recreation activities would lose funding.  The cuts would also eliminate four full-time positions and nearly a hundred part-time jobs.

"I'd feel really sad because you couldn't go hang out there with your friends or anything," says 12-year-old Breana Wilson.  "You'd have to sit at home and do something else."

"I feel it's going to cause a lot of unnecessary crime if they don't keep the kids occupied," Ralph Booth, another Adrian resident, tells 13abc.

Other options aren't off the table, like raising the fees for certain activities and non-residents.

"It's down now to large quality of life reductions if we're going to be able to balance the budget," says Nelson.

Eliminating the recs department is only a recommendation.  City leaders still have until May to approve a final budget.   If the budget problems persist into 2014, the next set of cuts could impact the library system.