Conroe leaders, residents dispute handling of Westside Recreation Center after pool removed

City officials and residents debated the condition and recent work at the Westside Recreation Center during the Conroe City Council workshop on Feb. 12, 2025, after staff outlined years of repairs, missing permits and floodplain constraints and residents said the center lost a major community asset when its pool was removed.

In an administrative update, Ms. McKeska, a city staff member presenting the item, said the city bought the Westside Recreation Center in 2021 for about $2.5 million and has since spent “over a million and a half dollars” on repairs and renovations, including more than $600,000 on the pool. She told the council some of that work had been done without permits and inspections under prior administrations, and that boilers and electrical systems at the site had been failing for some time. “The boilers have issues,” McKeska said. “We’ve been ongoing trouble with the boilers from some time.”

Why it matters: Council members and residents said the pool’s removal — described by a councilmember and several speakers as having occurred recently — is a tangible loss for users and raises questions about transparency and asset management for park facilities. City staff said long-term floodplain and federal requirements limit how much can be spent to renovate the building without triggering more extensive compliance obligations.

City staff described the technical and regulatory constraints that shaped the center’s maintenance. McKeska said state law requires tradespeople to pull permits for electrical, plumbing and HVAC work and that only four permits were found for the renovations done before staff’s recent involvement; a floodplain permit was pulled after the fact. She said some city electricians worked on the facility but are not specialists in pool electrical systems. McKeska also recounted a nighttime electrical fire tied to a hot disconnect in an electrical panel; Entergy was called and shut power off at the transformer because the disconnects were “hot to the touch,” she said.

McKeska told the council staff had spent money patching critical systems at the site but that continuing to invest in a repeatedly flooded building may not be prudent. She noted federal floodplain and FEMA rules require that if a public entity places more than 50% of a building’s value into renovation, the structure must be brought up to current floodplain and FEMA standards. “If you’re gonna put more than 50% of the value of the building into the facility, you’re gonna have to bring it up to FEMA code and to floodplain code,” she said.

Several council members and residents said they were surprised by the timing and extent of recent work at the facility. Councilman Wood said he had not received advance notice of major changes and said he learned about the pool removal from calls by constituents after the fact. Rob Hamilton, a retired Parks & Recreation employee who addressed council during citizen participation, said he was “greatly disheartened and disappointed” that the pool — which he estimated opened in the late 1980s — had been removed and questioned the decision to demolish or remove a facility he characterized as a long-serving community asset.

Other community comments emphasized recreational uses of the larger property. McKeska said the site includes about 100 acres with trails and a lake and that staff plans to temporarily close and clear the trails starting Feb. 18 for safety and maintenance. She listed possible future uses under study, including limited-use activities such as an archery tournament or disc golf on a small portion of the property, and said staff is open to public suggestions.

Council members pressed staff for greater clarity about permits, costs and future plans. One council member asked whether the fire and safety risks meant work should always be permitted; McKeska said the city corrected the permitting practice “some time back” and has been complying in recent years. Council members also sought confirmation of the accounting for past expenditures and whether federal or FEMA rules were in effect when the city purchased the property in 2021; McKeska said FEMA and floodplain restrictions were in place at acquisition.

What’s next: Staff said no final decision on the long-term disposition of the Westside site had been made and that council would be kept informed as staff compiles more detailed information and options. Staff also announced temporary trail closures beginning Feb. 18 to clear overgrowth and address safety hazards. Residents asked for more transparent notification and for council to place policies for recreation asset management, metrics and community engagement on a future agenda.

Ending: The council scheduled no formal vote on the facility during the workshop. Several residents said they will continue to press for a public discussion of long-term plans for the Westside Recreation Center and for clearer communication from city staff about major changes to recreational assets.