Companies come up with plans for a city aquatic park

Design proposals from multiple pool companies on Carbondale public pool’s appearance and cost are under review by the Carbondale Park District pool committee.

Sally Wright, a pool committee member, said the committee is planning to recommend a company to design the pool and surrounding complex to the park district’s board of directors by their next meeting, on Oct. 31. The board of directors will make the final decision.

Advertisement

Four groups from across the Midwest were asked to prepare rough sketches on what the proposed pool would look like and give estimates on cost.

“At this point, that has been our task,” Wright said.

The pool committee was formed with several members of a previous local action group working to get a public pool in Carbondale. Since the group joined the park district, the park district board of directors approved a plan to expand the project to a recreation complex.

The complex will not only have a pool but also tennis courts and a skate park.

However, the project cannot move forward until Carbondale residents get a chance to vote on a tax referendum in March.

“We’ll look at which one we think is a best fit for the needs of Carbondale and the project, both based on services, as well as price tag,” Wright said.

Mike Heck, Carbondale Park District interim director, told the Daily Egyptian in September that the community must support this project before the park district will make a decision.

Advertisement*

David White, vice president of Westport Pools Inc. and a Carbondale native, said how the park district is pursuing this project is not uncommon.

“This is a growing trend; aquatic centers,” White said.

Several groups are working on the recreation complex besides just the pool companies, Heck said.

The park district’s bond council, recreation committee and the administrative and finance department are all working on different aspects of the proposed recreation complex.

The bond council works on securing government bonds to pay for the pool and figures out how much money it will cost the public, Heck said. Some preliminary numbers have been established, he said.

“I don’t want to release the numbers right now because I don’t want people to focus on that,” Heck said.

He said when the numbers are completely finished he will present them to the Carbondale residents.

Reporter Destiny Remezas can be reached at [email protected]