Villa Park residents float ideas to save Lufkin Pool
Residents who want to save Lufkin Pool in Villa Park from demolition on Monday gave the village board some ways to keep the 64-year-old swimming hole open for another decade to come.
Use reserves to fund repairs. Raise pool pass rates and daily admission fees. Encourage formation of a Friends of Villa Park Pools group, which could gather sponsorships and conduct fundraisers.
“Bottom line is, we have the money to repair Lufkin,” resident Amy Jenkins said.
Village board members and Village Manager Rich Keehner said they are considering the ideas from members of a new group called Save Lufkin Pool, which delivered its message through Jenkins and eight other speakers.
The issue, the Save Lufkin speakers said, is that the village board voted not to reopen the pool, against the wishes of residents who want the swimming option to remain. The pool at 1000 Ardmore Ave. needs an estimated $450,000 in repairs to open for another several years.
Save Lufkin members said they want the village's older of two pools to reopen, even while recreation staff members begin planning for a potential new pool and/or recreation center.
A new facility could cost between $6.5 million and $22 million, and Village President Al Bulthuis previously said it could be 10 years before the village is ready to take on the expense.
“Having only one remaining pool in Villa Park for up to 10 years until a new community pool and/or recreation center is built is not the way to move forward,” Save Lufkin member Katie Mueller said.
Lufkin is slated for demolition and a return to open space after trustees twice voted to reject two separate repairs — one that would have paid a consultant $25,000 to prepare to fix the filtration system, acid storage, backwash tank, drains, pipes and diving board, and another that would have paid a separate company about $88,000 to replace a detached liner.
Despite discussion at two meetings in November, Save Lufkin member Dan Canale said many residents were not aware the pool was in immediate jeopardy until the decision already was made.
Keehner said the repair contracts rejected twice in November cannot be brought up again for consideration until a new board is seated. But if the proposal to fix the pool were amended, he said, the village could look into it.
Keehner said his staff will seek guidance from the board about whether to pursue new options for pool repairs funded by reserves or to bring forward bids for demolition.
Most of the 13 residents who spoke about the pool advised the board to fix Lufkin so it can reopen for another few years.
One resident, former parks and recreation staff member Terry Wolf, suggested the village find a way to keep a pool at the Lufkin location, even if the structure needs to be torn out and replaced. Another resident, Willowbrook High School teacher and Villa Park Mariners swim team coach Jennifer Burns, said her heart wants to keep Lufkin open, but her head says it's smarter to close it and be fiscally responsible for the future.
About 70 people attended the board meeting, and some brought their kids, saying the discussion truly centers on preservation of the childhood experience of spending summer at the pool.
“By only having one pool available for up to 10 years, you are not thinking about our current generation of children,” Save Lufkin member Amanda Murphy said. “It's not fair to the kids who are 5 to 15 years old right now.”