Lawrence City Commission approves budget-friendly concept for outdoor aquatic center – The Lawrence Times

Lawrence city councilors on Tuesday expressed concerns about some testing that had not been completed for the existing Outdoor Aquatic Center, but voted to move forward with developing a pool concept that is within the city budget.

The city is planning a roughly $6 million renovation of the center at 727 Kentucky Street and has spent the past few months asking the public for feedback on several variations. City staff and representatives from SFS Architecture, Waters Edge and Vireo compiled the public’s feedback into three final concepts — two of which were more than $1 million over the project’s budget.

The commission’s approval on Tuesday does not obligate the city to spend any money on the project. Additional agenda items will be sent to the commission for further approval.

Mark Hecker, deputy director of parks and recreation, said he included the pool renovation in the city’s capital plan five years ago and “these are not things that just came to us.” He said the city continues to pump money into the facility and needs to think about “really giving it a major overhaul.”

Jeff Bartley, senior engineer at Waters Edge Aquatic Design based in Kansas City, Kansas, said an assessment of the current pool found that a significant portion of the existing pool is decaying. The shallow portion of the pool is sinking several inches, and assessors have concerns about cracks in the structure, Bartley told commissioners. He said he could not give a timeline for how long the pool will last in its current condition, but there will be progressive deterioration.

The current pool area is approximately 19,000 square feet, according to the meeting agenda. Each of the three proposed concepts added new features, including a lazy river, leisure pool and wading pool, but they limit the existing pool space.

The concept that commissioners voted for, a $6.1 million renovation, would provide about 3,000 square feet less water space than the current pool. Luis Ruiz, the city’s executive director of parks and recreation, said the project’s costs would be covered by debt service.

Here is the current swimming pool compared to the approved renovation concept:

Some swimmers expressed concerns about the limited hours of public pools in the city and said reducing the size of the pool would exacerbate current restrictions. Some people who provided public comment said the budget for the project would be better spent paying lifeguards for additional pool hours or reducing admission prices. One person told commissioners that developers would benefit financially from telling them the pool concept must go ahead.

One commenter from the public who uses a wheelchair asked the Commission to retain accessible ramp access to the swimming pool as he said it was his only means of exercise. The project team also discussed wheelchair lifts and the commenter said he once tried to use one and almost drowned.

Some Commissioners expressed concerns about the older, existing infrastructure that would remain in place under the proposed concepts.

“If we really haven’t done a hydrostatic pressure test on the pipelines that we plan to use for the next 30 years, I don’t know, I’m just wondering if we’re going to spend all that money on infrastructure that’s different ages and then end up with a lot of problems later because we’ve patched it together,” said Vice Mayor Mike Dever.

Commissioner Lisa Larsen also expressed her concerns about the pipelines, as those involved in the project stated without any testing: “We do not believe there is a leak.”

Commissioner Brad Finkeldei said the commission could approve the basic concept so the project team could take a closer look at specific aspects of the project, estimated costs and additional testing of the infrastructure.

“I want to see proof that if we spend $6 million, the existing infrastructure is adequate and will last as long as the rest of the underground facilities,” Dever said. “And if we’re not sure about that, we should probably rethink whether or not we want to replace the pipes.”

The goal is to begin construction in mid-summer 2025 and have a grand opening in summer 2026, said Jake Baldwin, technical program manager in the city’s Department of Municipal Services and Operations.

Finkeldei asked the moderators if that meant the 2025 swim season would have to be shortened. Ruiz said they hoped construction would fall between the two swim seasons, but Baldwin said that would depend in part on how quickly construction plans could be completed.

Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the first design with the addition of an accessible ramp and asked city staff to solicit additional bids for a larger flow channel and additional shade areas and to conduct additional testing to better estimate costs. Larsen opposed the motion.

Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about her work for The Times here. Read her staff bio here.

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