What happened to 240 hot dogs?

Charles Sodl wants to know.

At Tuesday's Coplay Borough Council meeting, Councilman Sodl presented the results of research he did on the borough swimming pool's annual loss, which has topped $30,000 for at least the past seven years.

"We've got a problem. We need to fix it," he said.

The lowest loss since 2006 occurred in 2011, when it was $30,501. The highest loss was $48,066 in 2009. In 2012, the Coplay pool lost $35,885, Sodl said.

"[The] $35,000 [loss] annoyed me," said Sodl, who has been outspoken about the high costs of running the borough swimming pool.

With the aid of borough office staff, he began looking into it, dividing revenue and expenses into two categories – the concession stand and the pool itself.

The concession stand is supposed to be one of the pool's sources of revenue, Sodl said.

However, in Coplay, over the past five years, the concession stand has lost between $1,380 in 2012 and $8,159 in 2009.

These figures do not include the cost of utilities which, for just the concession stand, amounted to $2,036 in 2012.

This brings the total loss of the concession stand to $3,416 for 2012, he said.

"It's just not acceptable," Sodl said. "To lose money in a concession stand that should be producing revenue is unheard of."

Among the contributing factors is the cost of food purchased versus how much was sold.

Enter the hot dogs.

In 2012, the pool purchased 1,092 hot dogs but sold only 852, leaving 240 unaccounted for.

"Either somebody's eating them or giving them away for nothing," said council President Lou Bodish.

"We are not in the hot dog stand business. Let's get out of it, find some other way," said Sodl. "We provide a pool service, which I agree we have to keep the kids off the street. But do we have to feed them at a loss also?"

Sodl estimated closing the concession stand would save $9,284. That figure includes the $1,380 loss on food sales plus $5,820 in salaries and $2,036 in utilities.

The borough could install vending machines to sell refreshments or have an outside company run the concession stand, as both Northampton and Catasauqua do, Sodl said.

The Coplay pool menu includes popcorn chicken, chicken fingers, pierogies, pretzels, fries, mozzarella sticks, pizza, burgers and hot dogs. Data on sales figures shows that the borough lost money on every one of these menu items, Sodl said.

"I have never seen anyone run a business ... that lost money on everything," said Bodish.

Councilman Bill Leiner Jr. said the borough must consider the weather when evaluating pool expenditures. Bad weather will mean fewer pool admissions and lower food sales. However, the amount of food ordered "should be refined enough that you can adjust it" for the weather, he said.

Leiner also said he was told the pool manager did not do the purchasing.

Borough Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Gyecsek said the manager is asked each week how much food is on hand and how much is needed.

"I don't get paid to be the pool manager," Gyecsek said.

Sodl read a portion of the pool manager's job description which says the position is responsible to "track supplies and inform office of needs," by providing weekly counts.

When council members began discussing how to price items to cover costs and turn a profit, Gyecsek said she began reviewing those figures.

"That's not where we're losing," she said. "We're losing on this, on the control, absolutely."

"That even makes it worse," said Sodl. 'What you're telling me is pricing is correct and between the merchandise and the revenue, we got a little shortage problem."

Three things pay for the pool – revenue from admissions, revenue from the concession stand and tax dollars, said Sodl, calling the use of tax dollars to fund a concession stand loss "unacceptable."

"This council right here can do something that 10 or 15 years of councils couldn't do – reduce that deficit," Sodl said. "What do we want to do?"

Leiner said he did not know if the borough had time to find another company to run the concession stand.

Sodl said, however, he has already been approached by one company.

Council members agreed Sodl should pursue outsourcing the concession stand.