Lincoln Pool faces uncertain future

Lincoln Park pool's future is as cloudy as its water.

Rusty exposed seams on its water slide, metal patches on the slide's support frame and a noncompliant main drain are among a litany of serious defects at the pool that were outlined Tuesday night.

"I'm appalled," said Grand Island City Councilwoman Peg Gilbert as she viewed digital photos of the pool problems during a council study session.

"This has become a public health problem," Gilbert said. "I really think it's important we never use this facility again."

But shutting down the 33-year-old city pool would leave the city parks system without a pool deep enough to teach diving during swimming lessons. The number of city swim lessons would have to be reduced because Lincoln Park Pool at Seventh and Lambert is a primary lesson pool, said Recreation Superintendent Todd McCoy.

An aging water recirculation system that operated at less than half capacity caused water clarity issues that shut the pool down 27 of 83 days this past summer, said Parks and Recreation Director Steve Paustian. Lifeguards couldn't see the pool bottom and the water lacked proper sanitation.

Replacing the pool with something new of the same size will take about $1.75 million, he said. The city has not budgeted for any replacement or even for $500,000 of repair to the filtration and drain system.

Mayor Margaret Hornady and Councilwoman Joyce Haase said if replacement must be done, it may be time to look at upgrading Lincoln Pool from a neighborhood concept to a competition-sized pool, which has been requested by the public in the past. That cost is about $3.5 million to $4.5 million, Paustian said.

The location of a replacement pool must also be decided. Lions Club Park and Ashley Park were the most frequent suggestions made by the council Tuesday, but another location at Lincoln Park and the newly purchased Sterling Estates Park in northwest Grand Island were also mentioned.

During the study session, the council also reviewed a $120,000 turnaround at the city-owned golf course, Jackrabbit Run, that left it with a $33,000 profit this year.

The council praised Golf Pro and Director Don Kruse for his management and changes. It also heard of coming expenses with a need to replace the irrigation system, disease-ridden trees and provide upgrades to the clubhouse.

Any clubhouse addition will be expensive, Paustian said, because the golf course is built over a former landfill, which shifts and settles over time. It took 30-foot-deep pilings to have a stable base for the current clubhouse.

That shifting also prevents the current gravel parking lot from being paved, he said.