Des Plaines Park District weighing options for aging pools

Des Plaines Park District officials are exploring options for upgrading two aging community pools - Iroquois and Chippewa - that have been operating well past their 30-year life-expectancy.

Officials said this week they are trying to get a better handle on what it would cost to either replace the two neighborhood pools at their current locations or possibly build a new indoor/outdoor pool facility at Prairie Lakes Community Center.

"What we're doing is really just exploring all the options for aquatics in our community due to the fact that these facilities will need to be replaced sooner rather than later," said Gayle Mountcastle, park district superintendent of recreation.

Chippewa pool, located in Chippewa Park next to the middle school, and Iroquois pool, at Iroquois Community School, were both built in the 1960s. Two community surveys conducted in 2000 and 2006, and a 2007 master plan study of park district facilities all highlighted the need to replace the two pools.

Iroquois is in slightly better shape than Chippewa because the bottom of the pool was resurfaced a few years ago to protect its interior workings such as piping, Mountcastle said.

"(Chippewa) is structurally not in good shape," Mountcastle said. "We are past the useful life on that (pool)."

Mountcastle said the pools get a lot of use during the season - Chippewa's attendance between 2007 and 2009 was 8,524 users on average per season, and Iroquois' was 6,280 users for that same period.

However, the park district loses about $80,000 yearly on the operation of the pools that usually is offset by revenues from its Mystic Waters aquatic park off Miner Street.

"In a typical year, we will cover that loss with what we make at Mystic Waters," which is about $100,000 yearly after all expenses are paid on the three pools, Mountcastle said.

Two years ago, the cost estimate for a brand new pool with extra amenities such as a zero-depth area was about $4 million. To build either an indoor or outdoor aquatic facility at Prairie Lakes could cost anywhere between $10 and $14 million, but that's just a ballpark estimate derived from what neighboring communities have done, Mountcastle said.

Mountcastle added, the park district does not have the resources to replace Chippewa and Iroquois pools, as well as build a new facility at Prairie Lakes.

"We're looking at what makes sense of those options or a combination of two of those," Mountcastle said. "(The cost) really depends on to what extent you go with the development of the pool. One of the amounts that we're comfortable with is $10 million. That's a number that's been discussed as within our resources that we'd be comfortable with (spending)."

A portion of the funding for such a project would come from the park district's reserves and the remainder would be funded through issuing bonds, Mountcastle said.

But before it gets to that point, the public will have several opportunities to weigh in, she added.

The park district recently sent out a survey to the users of Chippewa and Iroquois pools to gauge their sentiments about any changes.

The district's aquatics task force, established last fall, also has approached nearby towns that have indoor community pools about the possibility of sharing facilities.

This fall and winter, the park district will get its master plan architect to provide new drawings for a scaled-down version of a lap pool and revised cost estimates for all options. The district also will be hiring a company to do another needs assessment on just pools, Mountcastle said.

"After we have all these facts together, we will go to the public and have public meetings next year," Mountcastle said. "Our intent is to do whatever is best for the residents of Des Plaines. It is a huge decision for us and for the public."