St. Mary's reviews $3.3M–$5.3M pool replacement options; residents urge repair, not replacement

Consultants working for Councilman Hunsaker presented three replacement options for the St. Mary's public pool at the council meeting on Aug. 18, each designed to fit roughly within a $5 million budget window and range from a splash-park-focused option to a larger pool with slides and lap lanes.

The presenter, George Dinis, said the firm developed three new designs after community meetings and surveys. The options are: (1) a combined pool and splash pad with about 3,500 square feet of pool water plus an 800-square-foot splash pad (a little over 4,000 square feet of water surface) with an estimated cost just under $5,000,000; (2) a destination splash park only (no standing water) at about $3,300,000; and (3) a larger, six-lane, 25-yard pool of roughly 5,000 square feet with a water slide and multiple activity zones, estimated at about $5,300,000 in today’s dollars. Dinis said cost estimates assume reuse of the existing bathhouse with a $500,000 allowance for upgrades; full replacement of the bathhouse would raise costs.

Why it matters: Council members and members of the public said any project must consider not only construction cost but ongoing maintenance, staffing and the pool’s role in community programming. Several residents and council members pushed the city to consider refurbishing the existing facility rather than replacing it,…