The Lawrence City Commission will hear a plan Tuesday to renovate the outdoor pool’s current structure, which could save thousands of square feet in swim space and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Lawrence city commissioners approved a concept in August that would add a lazy river, a splash pad and a leisure pool, but cut open swim space roughly in half. Commissioners asked for more information, including the potential cost of renovating the pool in its current layout.
Since commissioners approved the renovation in August, nearly 1,700 people have signed a petition asking them to reconsider the design because it would cut open swim space at the Outdoor Aquatic Center, 727 Kentucky St.
The estimated construction cost of repairing the pool in its current form is $3.6 million, according to the meeting agenda.
That total does not include funding for building renovations or other extraneous costs that the previously approved new concept included. With those costs added, the total estimate would be around $5.3 million — $760,000 less than the $6.1 million commissioners approved in August for the new pool concept.
Renovating the pool in its current form would extend its life by 20 or more years, according to the agenda, compared to the current pool’s estimated lifespan of around 10 years.
However, the commissioners are not voting to approve renovations to the current pool on Tuesday.
Instead, they are voting on whether to authorize a payment of $545,165 to SFS Architecture Inc. to provide a final design of the previously approved new concept.
“Our pool advocacy coalition is very glad to see that a renovate/repair plan would fit within the city’s allocated budget for the pool renovation,” said Holly Krebs, one of the organizers of the petition. “This option could include another $760,000 worth of upgrades and still stay within the city’s approved budget.”
The agenda report suggests a handful of renovations and repairs to the pool, including fixing the floor and drains of the pool basin, rebuilding the shallow end and replacing concrete.
Vice Mayor Mike Dever had asked during the Aug. 13 commission meeting what it would cost to redo the current pool. Jeff Bartley, principal and engineer with Kansas City, Kansas-based Waters Edge Aquatic Design, said it would be “significantly more” — “If you were to redo the pool, you’re probably talking $15 to $20 million cost to do that. It’s a sizable structure,” Bartley said.
Luis Ruiz, the city’s director of parks, recreation, arts and culture, said during the same meeting that renovating the current 50-meter pool would add “a lot of money to this budget.”
But the agenda for Tuesday shows the cost to renovate would be less than the previously approved new concept.
The outdoor pool hasn’t been renovated in nearly 30 years, according to the city’s website. The city plans to debt finance the project. Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2025, according to the agenda, though city staff members have previously said they would attempt to time construction during the pool’s offseason.
As of Saturday morning, the agenda item included more than two dozen written comments from community members encouraging the commission not to approve a plan that would shrink the pool.
The commission will begin its regular meeting at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. See the complete meeting agenda at this link.
Meetings are open to the public, broadcast on Midco channel 25 and livestreamed on the city’s YouTube page, youtube.com/@lawrenceksvideo.
The commission accepts written public comment until noon the day of the meeting emailed to ccagendas@lawrenceks.org. The commission also hears public comment in person during meetings as well as via Zoom. Register for Tuesday’s Zoom meeting at this link.
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Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since April 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read his complete bio here. Read more of his work for the Times here.
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