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Residents and PB Swims urge action on closed Lake County pool; officials say full funding and a unified plan are required
Summary
PB Swims urged commissioners to support fundraising and use local recreation funds to reopen the Lake County Aquatic Center, closed since 2021. County and school officials said the building is school-owned, past feasibility work shows multi‑million-dollar needs, and a voter-backed bond or a major capital stack is likely required.
Jane Harrelson of PB Swims told the Lake County Board of County Commissioners at the April 14 work session that the county’s community pool has been closed since April 21, 2021, and that the community wants the building renovated rather than replaced. “The community wants a pool,” Harrelson said, outlining past surveys, feasibility work and an intergovernmental agreement the county holds with the school district.
Harrelson and PB Swims asked the board to endorse renewed use of recreation replacement funds and targeted conservation trust funds for the aquatic center and to provide institutional support for grant applications and fundraising. She said prior estimates — compiled by architects and staff over recent years — put a renovation in the mid‑to‑high single‑digit millions to low‑tens of millions; after adding locker‑room work and contingencies she cited figures in the $16.5M–$22M range depending on scope.
Commissioners and school board members said the project is complicated by ownership and capital‑planning questions. The building is owned by the school district under a 2003 intergovernmental agreement that runs through 2028; school officials said their board must weigh educational priorities and building‑wide infrastructure needs before committing to a renovation that may not be shovel‑ready for many grant programs.
Kate (a school board member) told the meeting that the most practical path to finance a project of this scale is usually a voter‑approved bond. “If this community is serious about this, the way to do it is to run a ballot issue and pass a bond,” she said, adding that many grants require a shovel‑ready project and that incremental fundraising can leave projects incomplete. School board members and county staff also raised concerns that renovation of an aging facility can reveal deeper infrastructure problems and that piecemeal fixes risk wasting taxpayer money.
PB Swims representatives said their first step is institutional support — a letter or a statement of local support that grantors often expect — so they can pursue large foundation and capital grants. Commissioners said they want the district’s long‑range capital plan and clearer cost breakdowns before endorsing grant applications targeted at the school‑owned building.
No funding decision was made. Commissioners asked staff to provide the 2003 IGA language and to coordinate with the school district and city around possible financing pathways, and PB Swims said it will continue outreach to philanthropic and grant sources.
