Council orders feasibility and structural studies of Southeast and Southwest pools, pauses closure

The Amarillo City Council amended a second-and-final-reading resolution concerning the Southwest Pool and directed staff to perform both a structural analysis and a feasibility study for the Southeast and Southwest pools rather than permanently closing Southwest immediately.

Councilman Reid and other members said the previous recommendation to permanently close the Southwest Pool and study only the Southeast pool "doesn't make sense" without like-for-like contractor evaluations for both facilities. Multiple public commenters, including parents and regular users, urged council not to remove a community asset without hard contractor bids or a balanced review.

City staff said prior cost estimates (for example, replastering or equipment replacement) came from pool vendors as budgetary figures and that formal procurement and design documents would be required to produce hard bids. Staff also said they could seek budgetary estimates from vendors without a full RFP to provide comfort to citizens in advance of a formal bidding process. Council approved a motion to move forward with feasibility and structural studies for both pools and to gather budgetary estimates.

Council voted on the amended direction at the meeting; the motion carried on voice vote. Staff said the studies will report repair versus replacement costs, demolition options, and potential alternative uses (e.g., splash pads), and will return findings to council. Council members requested that staff explore getting contractor estimates or bids that would give residents concrete numbers rather than high-level estimates.