Lehi Council backs closure of old swimming pool

LEHI -- Out with the old, in with the new.

In a surprise move, the City Council was polled by Mayor Ken Greenwood on Jan. 25 regarding the fate of the city's outdoor pool at 400 East and 200 South.

By a tally of 3-to-1, the council's consensus was to close the 26- year-old pool.

A decision on the pool had not been expected until March, when a pair of new indoor pools are scheduled to be completed.

The poll was not an official vote but made clear the direction the city intends to proceed.

Earlier this year, the city sent questionnaires to Lehi residents about the future of the old pool. Because those survey results were available sooner than anticipated, council members were able to conduct an early review. The survey revealed that 57 percent of the responding residents wanted the old pool to remain open, but 81 percent said they would not support paying more taxes to fund the cost of maintaining the pool.

The city has been operating the old pool at a loss of $94,000 a year, city officials said.

Some residents indicated they would like the city to turn the old pool into a skate park. The city has yet to decide what will be done with the property.

The new pools -- under construction adjacent to the Legacy Center - - are slated to open on April 8. One is a leisure pool and the other is a lap pool. Officials clarified that the lap pool will have eight 25-yard-long lanes.

Lehi resident Bob Shepherdson is disappointed with the apparent direction voiced by council members. "The new pool will have its benefits," he said, "but overall, I think the option (the council is) pursuing is wrong. There are a lot of people that used the old pool."

With no diving boards and a maximum depth of 6 feet, Shepherdson feels the lap pool is geared more toward children than to serious and competitive swimmers.

Because of the lap pool's shallow depth, organizations like the Boy Scouts will need to look elsewhere to meet certain aquatic- related merit badge requirements.

City finance direct Ron Foggin has said the new pool is a compromise between the needs and wants of both the serious and casual swimmer.

E-mail: kmartinez@desnews.com

Copyright C 2005 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.