Mesa outlines $800,000 Parks & Recreation reductions; Fremont Pool to close after this summer

Andrea Moore, director of Mesa’s Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department, presented a proposed fiscal 2026 budget on April 7 that she said will require a net $800,000 reduction to city resources and a mix of program cuts, fee increases and staffing adjustments to balance service levels.

Moore said the department will seek about $300,000 in new revenue from recent fee adjustments and achieve the remainder of the $800,000 reduction through program eliminations, cuts to contracted services, and by eliminating operations-and-maintenance funding for a planned Elliot and Chrisman park development that was redirected to Signal Butte Park Phase 2. "We are pleased to present to you our budget proposed for fiscal year 26," Moore said in the study session.

The proposal includes closing Fremont Pool after this summer. Moore said Fremont Pool, built in the 1970s, has reached the point where continuing to keep it open would require major capital work — replastering, new filtration equipment and decking repairs — and the department recommends decommissioning it until a voter-approved replacement can be brought online near Red Mountain Center. Moore told the council the replacement pool is a bond-funded project planned for the Red Mountain site; she said the new pool is not expected to be in service for several years, and later in the presentation she referenced 2031 as the anticipated timeframe for the replacement.

Councilmember Spilsbury said the multi‑year gap worries parents. "Six years is a really long time," she said, adding that she was concerned about neighborhood access to pools, swim lessons and teen programming. Moore replied that Shepherd…