By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A creative solution is being sought to replace the swimming pool that failed at the St. Joseph Aquatic Park in 2019.
City Manager Bryan Carter says the Parks Tax Committee proposed spending $7.7 million to reconstruct a lap pool, but then had second thoughts on whether that was a wise expenditure.
“The problem that we ran into is the numbers that we were seeing and hearing for construction of a new pool, going from dirt to pool and building, was between $25 and $30 million,” Carter says. “We have $8 million to solve a $25 million problem.”
Carter says the price tag caused the city to back off and reconsider building a pool that would only be used during the summer months.
“So, before we take that jump, we need to evaluate other alternatives, including how we can develop an indoor aquatic center that will meet the needs of the community year-round,” Carter says, “so we’re not just using it during that short term.”
Carter says YMCA officials approached the city about working together to build a pool at the new Y facility near the Shoppes at North Village. The St. Joseph City Council has approved a resolution to contribute $7 million to building a new pool at the Y contingent on the YMCA raising the additional money needed to build a pool by the end of the year.
“We are in the early stages of working with the YMCA to identify if that’s feasible,” Carter says. “If we can contribute the capital money that we have into a facility that they would build and operate and then, of course, if they can do the rest of the fundraising that will be necessary to build a facility.”
The St. Joseph City Council has pledged $7 million toward a “modern indoor aquatic facility on the YMCA Community Campus, contingent on the YMCA raising the rest of the money needed to build a pool. Under the agreement, the city would contribute $270,000 a year to operate the pool.
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