Villa Park challenges residents to find funds to fix pool
Villa Park trustees voted Monday night not to spend $200,000 to repair the village's 64-year-old Lufkin Pool, but they challenged residents who support the facility to come up with the money to save it.
Instead of voting to demolish the pool after a measure to repair it failed by a 5-2 vote, trustees chose to put off the issue of demolition until November.
"Let the people who support Lufkin have an opportunity to find a way to fund this without using village funds," Trustee Chris Aiello said.
Members of Save Lufkin Pool, an advocacy group formed in December, left the meeting after the board denied the repair item.
But Trustee Donald Kase said they seem pretty "gung ho" about finding a way to keep open the pool their children learned to swim in and the summer escape they love, even coming up with a business plan for pool operations and offering to form a nonprofit, Friends of Villa Park Pools, to help pay for it.
Save Lufkin members had said formation of the friends group, and coordination of fundraisers to support pool repairs and maintenance, was contingent on approval of $200,000 worth of repairs to items such as the pool liner, diving board, drainage system, pool deck and pool house.
But now the four trustees who voted to delay demolition hope the pool supporters will extend that support and find their own way to pay for needed work.
Trustees Bob Wagner and David Cilella along with Village President Al Bulthuis voted against delaying the vote on demolition. Wagner said having Lufkin Pool sit idle at 1000 Ardmore Ave. won't be a consolation prize to those who hoped to fix it in time for summer fun.
"We've disappointed the people that wanted Lufkin pool," Wagner said. "I don't think that keeping around the shell of a former pool is going to make them feel any happier."
During a packed meeting at the Iowa Community Center, instead of the smaller village hall, 33 residents - several of them kids or teens - spoke in favor of repairing and reopening Lufkin Pool, despite its significant operational needs and deterioration over a 64-year life.
"Saving Lufkin is the right choice," resident Tom King said.
Seven others told trustees they don't support paying to fix the pool when demolishing it would cost $77,000, saving some funds to put toward construction of a future pool and/or recreation center that is the subject of preliminary planning talks.
"Sometimes old things we have to say goodbye to, and that's tough," resident Sharon Jensen said.
The village's financial future was at the heart of the decision. Several trustees said they couldn't support the cost of refurbishing the pool when there are threats of a state-imposed property tax freeze and when police and fire pension costs keep rising.
Finance Director Kevin Wachtel said the village is projecting a $1.4 million deficit for its calendar year 2019 budget and has to make yearly cuts to balance expenses and revenue.
Bulthuis said spending to fix Lufkin wouldn't put the village in financial jeopardy right away, as Villa Park has a reserve of about $9 million, which is the equivalent of what it takes to operate the village for 160 days. But he said it could prove an unwise decision in the near future.
"Within a year or two we will have financial difficulties that we could use that money for," he said.
For now, the village has not authorized any more spending on Lufkin Pool. The board plans to discuss potential demolition again in November.