Iowa City Council votes to replace City Park Pool

IOWA CITY — City Park Pool, an “iconic” facility that has served the needs of the Iowa City community since 1948, will be replaced with a new pool.

The Iowa City Council voted unanimously this week to replace the pool. The vote followed an hourlong presentation of a report prepared by consultants from Williams Associates Architects of Itasca, Ill. The city hired the firm in May to analyze whether the pool should be repaired or replaced.

The 100-page report recommended replacement of the pool and includes a detailed list of the reasons why: water loss, accessibility, health and safety, and sustainability.

Two of the biggest challenges facing the pool are deterioration of the basin and concern about the pool walls’ structural integrity. The report notes — and provides photographs of — cracking, spalling and deterioration of the concrete pool. Existing concrete is deteriorating, and efforts to patch the pool are failing. That leads to water loss.

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In 2021, over the course of 110 days, the pool lost about 30,000 gallons of water per day. In 2022 — also over the course of 110 days — the pool lost 48,382 gallons of water per day. As of July 31 this year, the pool was losing an average of 55,351 gallons per day.

“That is a tremendous amount of water to lose through a swimming pool. That’s despite efforts made annually to patch, seal and paint to try to stem water loss,” Andrew Caputo, a senior project manager with Williams Associates Architects, told the Iowa City Council on Tuesday.

The report also cites a need to replace the poll’s mechanical systems — filtration, sanitation and piping — and the bathhouse, which was replaced in 1987.

The report puts repair costs for the pool at about $10.5 million. A new pool could cost between $10 million and $15 million.

“Because of the condition of the pool, a repair project would look very much like a replacement project and be very, very costly in order to try to mitigate these issues,” Caputo said. “We just believe we would recommend that any money — especially that much money — be spent on new infrastructure that’s going to give you some longevity.”

Council member Megan Alter asked how many years a repair project would extend the life of the pool.

“We would try to approach a repair scenario to have a life expectancy of at least five years, but with this facility, it’s in question,” Caputo said. “If we excavate the entire perimeter of the pool to try to stabilize all of the walls, it doesn’t make sense to not remove the walls and build them back.”

City Manager Geoff Fruin said the city could bond for the project, but the more likely source of funding will be the city’s facilities replacement fund.

Planning to begin

With the replacement option approved, the process of choosing the pool’s design will begin soon. And, the consultants stressed, the design will reflect what the community says it wants.

“The history of City Park Pool is very important,” Caputo said. “... History has a role to play in the design process. As we explore different concepts, depending on public feedback, a new pool doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be a different pool. That’s what the public input process is for.”

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That public input process will begin with conceptual designs that will be created based on input from focus groups of city staff, city council members and parks and recreation commission members.

After a concept has been approved by the council, the process will move to the public.

“There will be an emphasis on getting diverse opinions,” said Juli Seydell Johnson, the city’s parks and recreation director. “We want to make sure we hear from as many people as possible.”

That will include an open house this fall, followed by 14 focus groups targeting groups of people, including families, lap swimmers, teenagers, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, and others.

Based on that input, architects will develop three concept designs that will be put in a survey. The survey results will go back to the council and the parks and recreation commission for a decision.

Public input will last from October until March 2024. The design and bidding phase is expected to last April to July 2024, with construction August 2024 through 2026. The pool would be closed in 2025.

Council members encouraged the public to get involved in the process.

“You are clearly dealing with a facility that has what I would call an elegance to it, a spirit to it that relates very remarkably well to its setting,” council member John Thomas said.

“The simplicity of it speaks to the simplicity of the woodland setting,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how with the project and any changes that ensue, how that spirit is preserved, and I think it can be done.”

Comments: sara.baranowski@thegazette.com