Lombard to close Moran pool in 2008

After a swim season in which failing infrastructure forced the lap pool to prematurely shut down, Lombard park commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to scrap plans for a 2008 swim season.

The vote to close Moran Water Park was followed closely by the park board's decision to spend $5,000 on architectural plans to design a new aquatic center at the site of the 50-year-old facility.

Those plans likely will be the basis of a future push to place a tax increase question on the February 2008 ballot to fund a new water park that could cost between roughly $7 million and $8.3 million.

John Dzarnowski of FGM Architects told park commissioners it would cost $7 million to replace and repair Moran's lap pool, diving well and the bathhouse and water slides.

Yet, according to the firm's report, given a $7 million investment, "the park district resident will not see any discernable improvements or additions to the Moran Water Park facility."

Improvements at Moran would require park officials to bring the rest of the aging park up to current standards including fixing 64 code deficiencies.

In order to meet the long term future of Moran, the report said, "replacement of the entire facility should be considered immediately."

Since 2005, park commissioners have identified creating a new Moran Water Park as a priority.

In Sept. 2006, after months of planning with architect and engineering firms, commissioners rejected a proposal to make major repairs to the water park and add a new features to Moran due to rising cost estimates.

Initially, the park board had expected the 2006 plan to cost between $5.5 million and $6 million. But those estimates rose to nearly $8 million.

"The board felt that was too much to spend using our non-referendum bonding," Park Executive Director Paul Friedrichs said. "At $8 million, residents should make the decision if that's what they want."

While commissioners acknowledged shutting down the pool next season may upset some swimmers, based on a recent resident survey, they believe there is support to make major replacements at Moran.

Of 2,373 residents polled, 1,462 people -- 61.6 percent -- said they'd supported placing a tax increase question on ballot, while 723 people -- 30.5 percent -- were against it.

Ranked out of a list of 13 different areas in the park district, including the Western Acres Golf Course, the fitness center and football fields, residents expressed high levels of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with pool facilities.

Although 11.2 percent of people said they were "very satisfied" with Moran, 12.3 percent were "dissatisfied" with the water park.

"Those numbers are big because of the issues we had this summer," Friedrichs said.

The six-lane lap pool was shut down June 25 due to safety concerns after the pool's liner tore and pieces floated to the surface.

That decision came days before the end of the swim season for the Lombard Waves, the park district's 175-member swim and dive team.

Although Waves president Maureen Joiner said she expected Tuesday's decision, Joiner said, "We are saddened by the loss of our pool."