FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH A NOW- DEAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECT - A POOL THAT WILL NEVER HOLD WATER STUART DYSON REPORTS FROM THE SCENE - BALLOON FIESTA PARK OUT Q SD EWN4 IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A 300 FOOT DIAMETER REFLECTING POOL - RIGHT NOW IT S JUST A HOLE IN THE GROUND - AND IT MAY STILL BE A HOLE IN THE GROUND WHEN THE BALLOON FIESTA STARTS IN OCTOBER THE POOL PROJECT WAS PART OF AN EIGHT YEAR OLD MASTERPLAN FOR THE PARK - APPROVED BY THE CITY ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING COMMISSION IN APRIL - BUT OVER-RULED BY THE CITY COUNCIL MONDAY NIGHT COUNCILORS CALLED IT A WASTE OF MONEY AND WATER AND NOW SAY IT S TIME TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD Bring people back together again - come back - we ll amend the plan so we can have a landscaped area that ll enhance the park - that ll serve the folks who visit it - and that is water-wise - okay - and that is a good use of our tax dollars THE MAYOR S OFFICE ARGUES IT WAS NOT A WATER- WASTER - AND WOULD HAVE ADDED CLASS TO THE GROUNDS OF THE BALLOON FIESTA THAT ATTRACTS ALL THOSE TOURISTS AND THEIR WALLETS We may not be able to deal with the hole but we ll clean it up and make it safe and functional for the fiesta - and then we ll regroup and figure out what improvements we re gonna do there - we may choose to leave it and include it into the project in some other fashion THE MAYOR S OFFICE SAYS THERE WILL BE NO ATTEMPT TO CHALLENGE OR APPEAL THE COUNCIL S DECISION WHILE THE LANDSCAPE DESIGNERS GET BUSY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH THIS HOLE IN THE GROUND - IT S BECOMING INCREASINGLY CLEAR - IT S A BIG WIDE OPEN SPACE SIGNIFYING THE GULF BETWEEN THE MAYOR AND MOST OF THE COUNCIL AT BALLOON FIESTA PARK SD EWN4 MORE TROUBLE