MAN - Danny Woods is upset that the Man Council has taken the pool away from him and may be taking the town to court.

Woods, who has a 25-year lease on the pool and operated it until 2005, came to last night's town council meeting complaining to Mayor Jim Blevins and the Man Council over his recent eviction from the pool and the subsequent takeover of the facility - which includes a restaurant - by the town.

Woods produced copies of his lease and said he did not intend to let the town council walk in and take it over.

Woods and town attorney Bernard Spaulding argued over the wording in the lease.

Woods maintains it was signed by a committee which included Blevins.

Spaulding said he did not think the Rotary had the right to sublease the pool.

Woods noted the consent of the town was given and that the lease had been notarized.

"You need to talk to the ex-mayor," Woods said, noting that he, himself, had operated the facility for many years with no complaints from the town. "I want the public to know how the town did me after years of service."

Spaulding said the town was told by a state official that if it did not reopen the facility within two years it would be forced to repay the loan used to create it, which was why the town took steps towards reopening the pool.

Woods said he has suffered some health problems which prevented him from reopening the pool over the past three summers.

"The town could not wait on one person to get better," Spaulding said.

Woods said he still has a valid lease on the property and may take the town to court later.

Councilman John Fekete told the council that the main delay in reopening the pool/restaurant facility this month had been the health department. Fekete said a chlorination system had been installed this past week, but the health department had a list of complaints that had to be addressed.

Fekete said that playground equipment purchased by a previous administration for a proposed park under the new highway would be utilized at the pool's park considering that the ground under the highway was not free for use until 2010. Fekete also thanked Woods for the work he had done for so many years at the pool.

Woods, in his discussion during the council meeting, told the history of the Man Pool and how hard he worked to get it opened.

Woods said the pool was originally created by two matching grants, one state and one federal for a total in the $300,000 range, not the $130,000 range that council members had stated earlier.

"That doesn't include $70,000 invested by the community," Woods said.

Woods said that, in 1994, after a long debate with a previous mayor, the Man Rotary Club got a 25-year lease to operate the pool and associated park. At that time, the facility was in bad shape and the pool even had trees growing in it. The park area was overgrown with weeds and drug deals routinely took place there. Woods said the Man Rotary Club had no permanent meeting place at the time, and it was decided to utilize the facility for one. Woods renovated the building for that purpose and the Rotary began meeting there. Woods said that, at first, many volunteers, including current Mayor Jim Blevins, helped cut grass and brush and remove weeds and the volunteers all worked very hard. Woods said he, himself, went in early to his day job so he could get off work early to help get the pool opened.

"You can't have kids watching kids," he noted, explaining that the pool had become very successful in terms of public use and turnout. Woods noted that in several years there had been only two altercations between young people and no near-drowning experiences. Joanne Adkins the former cook at the hospital took over the concessions stand, which expanded into a fairly large restaurant.

Woods said he did not get any help from the town in either police protection or in being allowed to borrow items for the pool in that time period. The pool stayed open until 2005. Things went well until about 2006, when Woods himself had spinal surgery. Woods also said he offered the town the keys to his locks which had been cut off.

Woods said he knows how to manage the pool, but noted after his back did not get better, he did not open the pool up.

"I did tell Jim (Blevins) I would be interested in operating the restaurant," Woods said, noting that he built the fireplace there and furnished much of the wood utilized at the facility.

"My services were all free," Woods said. "For the last three years, I had all my records audited. My wife taught accounting and she was good with books. It was all there right down to within $9."

Woods said he kept the pool going with community support, hard work and sponsorship from local businessmen like Roger Muncy, Gary Ellis and Glen Yost, who he counted on every year to make donations.

Woods said he never turned away any child who wanted to swim but had no money and allowed them to barter for admission by doing small, simple chores like helping with the trash.

Woods said he worked at keeping the pool open for many years because of his love for the community and the people who live here. Woods said he believes the town of Man is not just one small community but was a hub for the greater Triadelphia district.

"You don't just govern the town of Man, you govern this entire area," Woods said.