Current City Swimming Pool No Longer Usable

The La Grange City Council discussed the future of the city pool at their meeting Monday night, Dec. 9.

During City Manager Jack Thompson’s report on current projects, Councilman Ken Taylor said he noticed that city workers recently pumped out the pool. Taylor asked about the status of the pool, which was closed this summer due to broken pumps and a lack of lifeguards.

Thompson said City crews pumped out the pool as a safety precaution and to keep the water from stagnating. He added that the future of the pool would be decided as part of a Parks and Trails Master Plan. The City recently issued a request for proposals from companies to assist the City with the plan. Thompson said five companies submitted proposals, and city staff will soon interview them to select the best proposal.

As part of the plan, he said, the City will gather public input about what kind of amenities citizens would like at the City’s parks.

“We want public input as to what amenities are the most desired in our parks system, including a pool,” Thompson said. “So that’s when we’ll take a look at it and ask, where does a pool fit in our overall system?”

“Is our long-term plan to demolish what we have?” Taylor asked.

“Yes, it’s pretty outdated,” Thompson said. “If we do a new system, we’ll need a new pool.”

Councilwoman Violet Zbranek said several citizens have asked her about the pool.

“I’ve had a lot of people come to me and they were pretty upset that the pool is closed,” said Zbranek.

“We want to understand and know, from the public, what’s important to you,” Thompson said. “We’ve heard stuff about pickleball courts, swimming pool, ball fields, dog parks – there’s been a lot of interest in a lot of different amenities. We want to hear from the public what’s most important to you so we can start prioritizing those issues and figure out funding mechanisms. A lot of that’ll come out in the plan.”

Thompson said the City will gather community input on the parks and trails plan through special meetings, social media and community events.