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Dallas parks board debates decommissioning aging pools as budget gaps persist
Summary
Park and Recreation Board members recommended a phased plan to decommission aging community pools to meet a $3 million budget gap, sparking debate over timing, equity and replacement funding tied to bond projects and spray-ground alternatives.
The Dallas Park and Recreation Board on Aug. 21 recommended a phased plan to decommission aging community pools to help close a roughly $3 million budget gap, but members sharply disagreed over timing and how to replace lost services.
Board members said the city spent $75 million on new regional aquatics facilities after an aquatics master plan and that ongoing maintenance, parts shortages and operating costs make continuing to maintain many small, decades-old community pools unsustainable. "We have to rip the band aid off," Park Board member Calvert Collins Bratton said, arguing the city should proceed with decommissioning and reallocate funds to modern replacements.
The board heard an…
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