Iowa City staff present near‑final City Park Pool design, warn budget could force redesign

City staff presented near‑final designs for the City Park Pool and told the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Commission the project is ready to go to public hearing but remains at risk of out‑of‑budget bids.

Julie, a city staff member leading the project, said, "We are kind of in our final days of design. The plan is for the public hearing to be set with the city council at the first meeting in February and then the public hearing to be held at the second meeting in February, with bids due then probably March 11th and awarded around April 1st, if all goes well."

The current base bid is about $18,500,000, Julie said; the team will submit several alternates so the city can add or remove items after bids arrive. Alternates include raised limestone planter beds, shade structures, pool heaters (one per pool), a climbing wall in the diving well (roughly $50,000), and the demolition of an adjacent brick park restroom. Julie said the bathhouse building will be all‑electric for ambient heat and shower water heating, in keeping with the city’s climate action goals.

Why it…