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When it opens at the end of May, the new aquatic center in Carlisle will look like many other swimming pool complexes that other Central Iowa cities have built or are considering. But to community leaders, the project, which has raised more than $750,000 in private contributions, is it critical step for encouraging new private development in Carlisle.
"I think the people here felt it was as much an economic development project as it was it recreational project," said Carlisle's city administrator, Neil Ruddy. Given the city's anemic commercial tax base - about $20,000...