Could Wichita pools reopen and stay open longer? City floats new ideas for its pools

The City of Wichita is re-examining how many of its public pools to keep open, and how much it’s willing to spend to do so.

Wichita City Council members are looking at three proposals for the future of city pools, two of which would keep more pools open. The scenarios:

• Keep the plan that was approved last year, which outlined that all but three of the city’s pools would close by 2023, to be replaced by splash pads or other amenities. This plan also includes an allowance for just over $4 million to construct a new pool, either at McAdams or Edgemoor parks. Estimated cost: nearly $19 million in capital improvement money and approximately $906,308 per year to operate.
• Close all but College Hill Pool, and construct a $10 million waterpark at McAdams Park. This plan would include the best cost recovery out of all the proposals, but would greatly reduce the amount of pools in town — every pool but College Hill would become a splash pad. Troy Houtman, director of the city’s Park and Recreation Department, also points out that the waterpark would compete with YMCA waterparks, Derby’s Rock River Rapids and a proposed waterpark at the Sedgwick County Zoo. Estimated cost: nearly $18 million in capital improvement money and approximately $765,105 per year to operate.
• Update six neighborhood pools — Aley, College Hill, Harvest, McAdams, Minisa and Orchard — and convert the rest to splash pads. This new plan would result in the highest number of public pools in Wichita, though the pools’ long-term future is not as clear, as some of them have deteriorating structural issues. A presentation at a City Council workshop indicated “many locations will be facing closure within 10 years,” because of increasing water loss and the deterioration of water pipes and pool basins. Estimated cost: $12.2 million in capital improvement money and $874,785 per year to operate.

No decision has been made yet. To view the full PowerPoint presentation on the different scenarios, visit www.wichita.gov/council, and click on Workshop Presentations.

In all of the plans, the city recommended pools stay open longer — and later into the year.

Currently, the city’s pools are open from 1-6 p.m. six days a week. Under any of the new plans, pools would be open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon-6 p.m. on weekends.

The new proposals suggest pools stay open regular hours through the start of school, then transition to weekends only through Labor Day. That’s nearly a month longer than usual, as Wichita pools have typically closed the first weekend of August at most locations.

Pools have been a hot-button issue for the council since it approved the 2017 aquatics master plan, which recommended the closure of all but College Hill, Aley and Harvest pools.

That plan was intended to help rectify a projected budget deficit of $1.7 million in 2019, which is expected to grow three-fold by 2022.

The pool at McAdams Park was closed last year.

McAdams’ pool, which is located in a primarily minority neighborhood, had the lowest revenue, cost recovery and attendance of all city pools in 2016, according to the master plan.

The decision to close it rankled many in the neighborhood, including council member Brandon Johnson, who made detailed pleas for low-income children needing access to a pool.

The City Council voted in August to allot $4 million to construct a new pool in District 1.

At a council workshop Tuesday, a contingent of people wearing blue “Save McAdams Pool” buttons — who had waited nearly six hours through a marathon meeting to hear the presentation — shouted down council members during and after the presentation.

The council does not have public comment at its workshops.

A police officer was called over as a supporter shouted at council members, “You’re only interested in the more affluent parts” of Wichita and “you don’t like the northeast area.”

The meeting ended shortly after the presentation, with little discussion.

The McAdams supporters, in a follow-up email with The Eagle, said they support the first scenario, which includes the promised $4 million pool in District 1.

“We fully expect the City Council to follow through with at least 4 million dollars for a new pool in District 1 (McAdams Park), as promised in 2017,” the email read.

The email was signed by Elizabeth Bishop, Karen Cayce, Vernette Chance, Mary Dean, Adrienne DeGraftenreed, Cindi Donaldson, Gail Finney and Donna Wirth.

The pool issue will come before the City Council again likely in January, after each council member’s District Advisory Board examines the plans.

To provide feedback on the plans, contact your City Council representative. Contact information can be found at www.wichita.gov/council.

This story was originally published October 26, 2018 at 6:14 PM.