Highland inching closer to constructing new pool facility
Highland is taking the next steps toward building a new pool, after a report released in November showed that the current city pool is nearing the end of its practical use.
The pool was built in 1964 and no longer meets current building codes, according to an audit conducted by FGM Architects and Counsilman-Hunsaker & Associates. The audit showed that $1.4 million in renovations would be needed to maintain the minimum standard under the law, or the city could construct a new pool.
The current pool was renovated in 1980, but is not compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act for parking, access paths, steps and grading, and has only one ADA parking spot for the entire facility.
Drainage has also been a problem, as well as space and ventilation for the bathhouse and office. The filter system does not meet code or industry standards, and any renovation would trigger a re-evaluation under the Illinois Accessibility Code, according to FGM.
“Our current pool has far outlived its life,” Councilman John Hipskind wrote in an open letter to Highland residents published in the Pioneer Press. “We cannot and should not continue to sink money into a troubled pool ... We live in a beautiful community. Our pool could and should be a major attraction for our residents and others outside Highland.”
The council voted unanimously to hire FGM to do a feasibility study with three proposed sites to build a new pool. The specific sites were not determined yet, and the study alone will take three months.
The vote did not come without some reservations.
“I would love to see a new swimming pool. I want to make that very clear,” said Councilwoman Peggy Bellm. “I don’t want to see anyone saying ‘Peggy doesn’t want a new swimming pool.’ But I would like to know how we are going to pay for it.”
The current proposal is to borrow the estimated $3.5 million, which would require approximately $240,000 a year to pay off. City Manager Mark Latham said the bonds for the Korte Rec Center will be paid off in October, which is approximately $435,000 a year.
That money could then be shifted to pay off the pool bond, Latham said, with $100,000 reinvested in the rec center and $100,000 in the remaining parks. He also said the $3.5 million was scaled back from the first estimate of $5 million.
“We can build a very nice pool that will suit the community for a long time,” he said.
Bellm joined the others in voting yes, but with reservations.
“I’m not sure I am comfortable with borrowing money for a pool,” she said. “I can justify borrowing money for a public safety building ... waste reclamation, for things that serve the whole community. The city is in such good financial shape and I want to keep it that way.”
Pool has become a liability, councilman says
Councilman Rick Frey said given the state of the current pool, it was a choice between building a new pool or shutting down the pool program, which Hipskind said brings people to Highland.
“This pool has become a central part of our community, and to just shut it down would be a disservice,” Hipskind said.
At the same time, he said, the current pool has become a liability.
The pool’s attendance in 2018 was approximately 10,670 visitors with an additional 9,000 approximated for use by a swim team and swim lessons offered at the pool, for a total of approximately 20,000 visits.