Committee members heard a preliminary plan Oct. 9 for improvements at the Deacon pool, where parks staff and the Friends of Deacon are developing concepts for repairs and new family-oriented features.

Parks staff said the pool house is showing its age and recommended exterior repairs including siding replacement, trim work and repainting to make the facility more welcoming. The group also reviewed the recent purchase of a commercial-grade removable stair to replace stepladders that are difficult for very young children to use. “When we showed them, it was like, why didn’t we do this before?” a staff member said.

Other ideas discussed were adding picnic seating scaled for children and adults, brighter colors, and investigating installation of toddler-friendly water features or a 0-entry-style area similar to other community pools. The Friends group has previously raised funds to build the existing pool house and currently holds county ARPA funds intended for pool improvements; staff said the Friends are under a timeline to spend those funds.

Parks staff will develop a cost estimate for proposed items and return to the committee with a concrete proposal. No formal vote or appropriation occurred at the Oct. 9 meeting because the committee lacked a quorum and continued as a public conversation.