CF pool committee votes to explore YMCA agreement for new pool site

CHIPPEWA FALLS — The Chippewa Falls pool committee has voted unanimously to explore an agreement to construct a new community pool complex on the south side of the Chippewa Falls YMCA grounds.

The Bernard Willi Outdoor Pool is located at Marshall Park, which is in a flood plain. It means some upgrades to the pool and structures can be made, but replacing it entirely at that site would be prohibited.

“The Pool Committee, with expert help from Burbach Aquatics (pool architects and engineers), considered many general pool plans and 13 specific pool plans,” said pool committee member Alyssa Van Duyse. “When we learned it would be difficult and costly to rebuild at the current site, we took many factors into consideration on possible placement of a new outdoor pool. We poured over the plans. We thought about current and future users of the pool, where they live, how they get to the pool, what is best for residents of our community and what is good for our city.”

Chippewa Falls Parks Director John Jimenez stressed that this plan is still in the preliminary stages.

“I think we’re looking at what our needs and wants are as a city,” Jimenez said. “We’re doing research on how a partnership like this can be viable.”

For instance, it is unclear if the city would need to build its own bathroom/changing room complex or if patrons would use the YMCA building. “These are questions we are still asking ourselves,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez said the committee has looked at land in Irvine Park, but that is mostly in the floodplain, plus there are restrictions on that land. The committee also looked at Casper Park in the southwest corner of the city, but Jimenez said that was just not centrally located enough. However, the YMCA has empty land, including on the south side of the building, which would be adjacent to the existing indoor pool.

“We’ll be having more conversations with park board members and Y members and come up with a viable option,” Jimenez said.

The pool is generally only open about nine or 10 weeks, from early June until mid-August. Jimenez said among ideas the pool committee has explored is a dome to enclose the complex, allowing the pool to be open more of the year beyond just the summer months.

“It’s been discussed, if that’s realistic, if we can use this facility beyond those nine weeks,” Jimenez said.

Van Duyse said that after two years of exploring options, the committee felt the YMCA plan was the best idea.

“The work is really just beginning. If the YMCA agrees to host a community pool at its Chippewa Falls site, and if the Chippewa Falls City Council also agrees, and if all logistics and contracts can be ironed out, then we will move forward and begin fundraising,” Van Duyse said. “We hope our current pool will be viable for several years, which will give us leeway to raise money for a new aquatic area, but we’re also looking at plans for upkeep. We want to make sure money is available to keep a new facility working and open for the foreseeable future.”

Park Board President Beth Arneberg reiterated that this plan is still in its early stages and no agreement is in place.

“I think it’s a great idea to collaborate with another organization in Chippewa Falls,” Arneberg said. “Our pool right now is functional and working and we don’t have to hurron a decision. The pool committee has done a fantastic job.”

Making repairsIn spring 2022, a Chippewa Falls committee comprising all City Council members discussed not funding future renovations of the pool; no vote was ever taken. Jimenez told them that the pool structure and facilities were out of compliance with federal mandates. Since then, the City Council has made several investments to keep the aging pool operating

Earlier this year, the Council spent $80,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to refurbish the pool’s slide, which had sat unused for the past two years.

A year ago, the Council approved a new pool heater at an estimated cost of $87,730, and a pool filter that was estimated at $70,000. A pool design study also was unanimously approved at a cost of up to $10,000.

The municipal pool is now more than 30 years old and is in need of repairs or being replaced. However, that could cost $4.5 million and the Council has stated it would have to come from private dollars, not the city budget.

Remodeling the bathrooms would cost $250,000 to $350,000. Replacing the slide tower would cost $150,000 to $200,000. Shade structures would cost $60,000, underwater lighting upgrades are $30,000, new deck lighting poles are $30,000, meeting ADA access requirements are $40,000, filtration and pump replacements are $30,000, and fencing upgrades are $18,000. Also, a plan to add a splash pad would cost $400,000 to $600,000.

The pool has never been a revenue generator and usually operates at a loss.

The pool was named after Bernard Willi, who served as Chippewa Falls mayor from 1990 to 1992. In that two-year term, he was instrumental in getting the new municipal pool built. He took the honorary first trip down the slide when it opened. The old pool was destroyed and replaced with the new one at the same location.

Drone policy comingJimenez is working with the city attorney to develop a policy that would ban drones in or near Marshall Park. The pool’s changing rooms do not have a roof, and Jimenez said with the latest of technology developments, he felt a policy is needed to keep drones from flying over those areas.