CF community asks City Council to keep municipal pool open

May 4—CHIPPEWA FALLS — Alyssa Van Duyse said she has routinely brought her seven-year-old daughter, Avery, to the Bernard Willi Municipal Pool in past summers, and she would hate to see it permanently close.

Van Duyse, a former Leader-Telegram reporter who lives in Chippewa Falls, is among a group of more than 50 people who attended Tuesday's Chippewa Falls City Council meeting to urge officials to find a way to keep the public pool open.

"I am a proponent of finding a way to keep our pool functioning," Van Duyse said. "But as a former newspaper reporter who values facts and numbers, I cannot allow myself to speak to you simply on emotion. I spent last week calling administrators at Eau Claire's Fairfax Pool, Menomonie's Wakanda Waterpark and Marshfield's Vandehey Waters."

Van Duyse said they all gave her the same response: pools do not make money.

"This is a service to the community," she said. "With open waterways and in their communities (and ours), an outdoor pool facility keeps the children in our communities safe. Safety was the pool administrators' top reason for keeping their municipal pools open."

At a Chippewa Falls Committee of the Whole meeting on April 13, the council agreed that spending millions to refurbish or replace the existing outdoor pool was too much money. While no vote was taken at the meeting, all council members were present, and all agreed with the consensus opinion to let the pool be open this summer, then permanently close it.

The council heard from six residents during Tuesday evening's meeting, but took no action on the pool.

Van Duyse recommended a facility maintenance plan be created and the city look at ways to save on construction costs by using volunteers.

A petition with more than 1,300 signatures was submitted to the council, asking the pool remain open.

City resident Mary Holle said her children made friends at the pool and were avid swimmers.

"The old pool and the new pool made positive changes in our lives," Holle said.

City resident Megan Kelly said the outdoor pool is an attraction to the city, and the council needs to find a way to keep it going.

The pool, located in Marshall Park, near the south entrance to Irvine Park, is open only in the summer months, and in recent years, the city has struggled to hire and retain lifeguards. The slide wasn't open last year; repairing the slide would cost about $20,000 and it would likely last another 15 years.

Parks director John Jimenez presented the Committee of a Whole with a study that analyzed the pool's current state, showing the high cost of repairing the pool. Remodeling the bathrooms would cost $250,000 to $350,000. Replacing the slide tower would cost $150,000 to $200,000.

Shade structures would cost $60,000, underwater lighting upgrades are $30,000, new deck lighting poles are $30,000, meeting ADA access requirements are $40,000, filtration and pump replacements are $30,000, and fencing upgrades are $18,000. Also, a plan to add a splash pad would cost $400,000 to $600,000.

Jimenez said he believes the current filtration system will make it through this summer, and the pool could perhaps last two or three more years.

The report also shows that a full replacement, starting completely over, would cost $4 million or more.

"I think it is our responsibility to provide the best facility possible," Jimenez told the council on Tuesday.

He contends the best value would be to construct a public recreational center, featuring meeting rooms and basketball courts. One with a pool would cost perhaps $20 million; a building without a pool would cost about $12 million.

"Our facilities are run-down," Jimenez said. "It is on life support."

One of the biggest problems is the lack of lifeguards. Jimenez said his ideal staffing level is 22 workers, but he is currently at just seven. It is one of the reasons the opening of the pool this year has moved back to June 10.

Other business

Also during Tuesday's council meeting:

—Police Chief Matt Kelm thanked the city for their support over the past week as law enforcement investigated the death of 10-year-old Lily Peters. The packed audience gave him a rousing ovation at the conclusion of his remarks.