Officials and residents of the city of West St. Paul agree: the swimming pool here needs a lifekeepers. But can the city afford to make a sensation in the renovation of the aging infrastructure, or will some patches keep things afraid?
The West St. Paul swimming pool Open for the season May 31, but the slide was closed indefinitely due to security problems. This decision comes after the city officials began to review the future of the aging community pool, which was initially built in 1956 and underwent a major renovation in 1999.
The deeper swimming pool was built seven decades ago, while the splashing pool later came to the turn of the century. The billiard room itself is structurally solid, noted the city staff, but the original swimming pool and the new more recent swimming pool have an aging infrastructure and mechanical items that require repair.
Last summer, the city asked residents and pool lovers Their thoughts on the maintenance of the open pool, the closure and also the potential equipment they would like to see in an aquatic area. The results have returned strongly in favor of the maintenance and renovation of the swimming pool, with 95% of the 400 respondents promoting the renovation or replacement of the swimming pool, in relation to closing it or moving to a new site.
“We really appreciate it. He has an old -fashioned feeling, “said Stephanie Schempp of West St. Paul.
She goes to the swimming pool almost every day with her two sons. When Schemppp heard for the first time that the future of the swimming pool could be in danger, it sent an email to the members of the municipal council to defend the swimming pool, calling it a “third place” for community members, a place other than the house or the work where residents can meet.
“It reminds me of my own childhood in the 80s and 90s; I like my children to have a place like this to which we can go, ”said Schempp. “We don’t want to lose what we have.”
Two paths
The diagnosis of slide security has come within the framework of a broader discussion – should the city continue to make lower and fragmentary repairs, while the global site still needs greater renovations?
“We could make another dressing correction, but is it the best way to do this? Probably not,” said Eric Weiss, director of leisure, leisure, the environment and sustainability. “We said:” Take a break from small projects for now. “We want to balance our investments in the swimming pool, and we want to make sure that they are intelligent movements and make sure that we are good guards of our fairly limited resources.
In terms of renovation of the slide as an example, said Weiss, the city did not want to spend more than $ 150,000 to realize that concrete under the structure should also be replaced.
In February, the municipal council examined the state of the swimming pool during a work session, finding two potential paths in the renovation of the site.
The first, a 25 -year -old renovation solution that would cost around $ 1.3 million, would replace smaller items and keep the site’s imprint largely intact.
The second option was a large -scale renovation solution of 50 years that would cost just over $ 4 million. This could include the pool terrace, equipment, deeper swimming pool ships and splashing pool, as well as flexibility to potentially modify the layout and design of the site.
What is the next step
What happens then concerning these planning discussions?
City staff are currently in the budgetary season, examining how these options could register in the broader context of the city of West St. Paul and the capital improvement plan.
“Everyone should be kept, and we want to get there, but how do we do it?” Said Weiss. “We are in a situation where we want to examine all these options, and there is a reflection – word play – if we are going to do it, we want to make a splash, we don’t just want to get around the edges.”
While the work session of the February Council brought all options to the table – things like the moving the swimming pool, the closing of the swimming pool and the redistribution of small aquatic facilities throughout the community, or the closure of the swimming pool and not adding other swimming options – the advice has chosen to direct the staff to first study the two renovation plans.
The mayor of West St. Paul, Dave Napier, who remembers swimming in the swimming pool himself like a young child, said that the desire to keep the swimming pool exists, but city officials will have to be creative to find ways to finance what would be an expensive renovation project.
Could a possible tax referendum go to voters? Napier said it could be an option, reasoning that the community would have the possibility of deciding on the possible swimming pool fate.
“There are a lot of challenges in our budget. It is not like we had a lot of money seated to repair the swimming pool,” said Napier. “The good news is that we are opening the swimming pool this year. The bad news is that the slide is closed. We really believe in it and want to keep it. I think we will get there, but we have to be creative on how to finance it and how we do it.
“Because once it’s gone, it’s gone,” said Napier.
