Villa Park pool's future likely to be set this month
Whether a 64-year-old swimming pool in Villa Park will open for another season likely will be determined this month.
Village President Al Bulthuis said he expects the village board to decide Feb. 26 whether to spend roughly $450,000 to repair Lufkin Pool or $77,000 to demolish it.
"We can't drag this on any longer," Bulthuis said. "We have a time issue."
For Lufkin Pool at 1000 Ardmore Ave. to reopen, Bulthuis said the village would need to seek bids to fix issues with a detached liner and the filtration system, acid storage, backwash tank, drains, pipes and diving board.
If the board decides to make the improvements, it would be a reversal of course from a decision in November.
Twice that month, village board members voted to deny items that could have readied the pool for the future - one that would have paid a consultant $25,000 to plan how to fix its mechanical issues and another that would have paid a company about $88,000 to replace the detached liner.
Bulthuis said the board cannot reconsider those twice-rejected proposals until a new group has been seated after an election. So officials are working with attorneys to draft new proposals that would still accomplish the aim of fixing the pool.
A group of residents has spoken during board meetings about the need to maintain two outdoor swimming spots in Villa Park.
The village has preliminary plans to move toward construction of a new pool and/or recreation center at Lions Park at 320 E. Wildwood Ave.
But before those plans progress, Bulthuis said the village needs to determine how to pay for such a facility, which could cost between $6.5 million for an outdoor pool alone and $22 million for an outdoor pool with a lazy river and an indoor pool inside a recreation center.
That's why residents say Lufkin needs to remain in service as a complement to the village's other swimming facility, the 62-year-old Jefferson Pool at 341 N. Harvard Ave.
"We think we need this pool to be a bridge to the future," said Ann Marie Testa, a member of a residents' group called Save Lufkin Pool. "We need to keep this pool open. They've got the money, and nothing is set for the new pool or recreation center or whatever it is going to be."
Members of the Save Lufkin Pool group recently toured the facility with staff members from the village's parks and recreation department and said they were not surprised with its condition.
They also say the village could use reserves to pay for Lufkin repairs, raise rates for pool admission and encourage formation of a Friends of Villa Park Pools group to conduct fundraisers.
Bulthuis said he does not yet have a consensus among board members about whether to renovate or demolish Lufkin. He also has not yet made up his own mind.
"My heart tells me one thing and my head tells me something else," Bulthuis said.
He said items about repairs and/or demolition are expected be on the agenda for the panel's next meeting, which is set for 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26, at village hall, 20 S. Ardmore Ave.