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Proposal to renovate Franklin Family Aquatic Center includes wave pool, slide upgrades and staging to avoid lost season
Summary
Parks director proposed renovating the 1986 pool with expanded parking (+112 spots), new slides, a wave pool across the road and ADA improvements; worst-case cost to build an off-site new pool was estimated at about $40,000,000, and construction is targeted to avoid losing an operating season with phased closures through 2027–28.
Franklin's parks director, Chip Warner, outlined a renovation plan for the Franklin Family Aquatic Center intended to extend the facility's useful life by 20+ years rather than build a new off-site pool. Warner described converting the current diving well to shallower depths, adding a larger 0-depth play area, attaching additional water slides to the existing tower and creating a wave pool on the adjacent parcel: "The worst case scenario of going out and building a new one someplace else is probably $40,000,000 today," Warner said.
Warner said the plan would add roughly 112 parking spots, close one adjacent road and reconfigure circulation to improve safety and ADA access. He described design choices to reduce lifetime maintenance costs (for example, using turf for fields elsewhere and choosing slide types that cost less in tower construction). Warner proposed a scoping period to refine features and costs and said the schedule aims to preserve the pool season during construction, with major work staged for August 2027 and re-opening in May 2028.
Council discussed membership pricing, nonresident fees and potential hiring of a facility manager. Warner said the pool "probably 95% pays for itself now" and that the city hopes to cover operating costs through existing revenue, targeted sponsorships and careful budgeting rather than a large ongoing subsidy.
