Aldermen Vow to Try to Open the City Swimming Pool This Summer – Decision in Two Weeks

By Pauline Masson

Trying to please all sides, aldermen vowed to try to open the city swimming pool this summer,even though the Park Board had recommended that the pool not open for the 2023 season.

Aldermen weighed the difficulty of locating and fixing a leak that is draining 1,000 gallons of water a day from the pool, rising management costs and tentative plans to build a new pool in the near future by asking voters to approve a $7 million bond issue to pay for its construction.

One aldermen alluded to the flood of public comments calling for the pool to remain open that inundated local soft media platforms in recent days.

“I’m praying that we can find a way to keep the pool open,” Alderman Rick Presley said. “The people really want the pool to stay open.”

A comment by Mayor Heather Filley indicated that even if the pool does open this summer, that would (tentatively) be the last summer for the pool, which would be torn out next year for construction of a new pool.

The mayor opened the discussion on the future of the pool by asking aldermen to refrain from acting on the Park Board’s recommendation to close the pool during that meeting to allow time to consider whether the leak could be repaired in time – and at a cost the city could afford – to enable the pool to open this summer.

Public Works Commissioner Robert Brueggemann told aldermen that he had not yet investigated the leak at the pool, but would do so and would try to help Chris Fowler, parks superintendent locate and fix the leak.

Alderman James Cleeve said that while he had respect for both Brueggemann and Fowler, they were not pool experts. He said if they were unable to locate the spot of the leak within a couple of days a pool expert should be asked to look at the problem. 

City Administrator Steve Roth said he would contact Westport Pools, the pool construction firm in Maryland Heights to examine the pool and try to locate the leak.

Also on the agenda was a request from Midwest Pool Management, the firm that has managed the pool for the past five years, to approve the contract to manage the pool for the 2023 season.

Even though it was known that the pool might not open this year, Alderman Jill Pigg suggested approving the $93,000 cotract with the pool company.

She said Midwest pools had always done a good job and she did not want them lose out on the opportunity to hire staff for the pool during the preseason months of recruiting.

James Cleeve asked how much the city would be expected to pay if the contract was approved and the pool did not open.

Crissy Withow, Midwest Pool Management president said the management firm is already preparing for the summer and is facing certain administrative costs. She said.if the contract was signed and went into effect there would be no staffing (lifeguard) costs, but the city would be responsible for approximately $8,000 in management costs.

Cleeve made a motion that the contract be approved for the 2023 season, but the mayor would not sign it, for at least two weeks, until the need for repairs is resolved and aldelrmen make the final decision on whether to close the pool.

“That way we won’t lose $8,000,” Cleeve said. “We might be able to use that money for any repairs.”

The scope, size and cost of a new pool is now before the Administrative Committee, which meets monthly. The committee is reviewing the plan for a new pool, which will require a bond issue and approval of the voters. Mayor Filley said it is possible that the bond issue to fund a new pool could come before voters in the November general 2023 election.

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