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BETHALTO – The Bethalto Village Board will be considering the fate of the swimming pool in the community tonight.
The 65-year-old pool is in dire need of updating and maintenance and the more practical approach seems to be moving ahead with a plan for a new splash pad next to where the pool is now.
The Bethalto Pool is located at 325 E. Central St. Electrical, plumbing, concrete and mechanical issues prevented the pool from opening in May as usual.
Winslow is of the opinion that the 60-plus year pool would take an enormous amount of funding and work to repair. He said the funds are already available for the splash pad and it can be a much nicer facility and another water activity for children.
“The bathrooms have been completely remodeled so either way, with a pool or splash pad, we will have that and on the other end, concession stands,” Winslow said.
A thorough analysis has been done on the pool and will be presented to the Bethalto Village Board.
“Plumbing is a big deal for us with the pool,” Winslow said. “We are having some leakage issues and looking at tearing up all the concrete around the entire pool facility. We know there is a lot of corrosion with the drains.”
A Madison County Park Enhancement Program (PEP) grant will be used to build a splash pad next to the pool.
Several long-term moves would have to be made to preserve the pool and it doesn’t appear cost-efficient, Mayor Alan Winslow said.
Bethalto Public Works Director Rod Cheatham provided a tour of the pool as it stands now recently, depicted in photos in this story.
“The bottom line is the pool would require a considerable amount of repairs,” Winslow said. “The more we dig in, the more we find needs to be done. I just don’t see where it will be practical to spend the kind of money necessary to fix it.”
Winslow said he guessed there would have to be another use found for the pool or it would be filled in for volleyball or paddle ball. He was pleased the locker rooms and pool house will still be available for use.
Winslow said based on what has been witnessed in Hartford, a splash pad gets a tremendous amount more usage than a pool. The thought implementing the splash pad project has been on hold waiting on the decision about the pool.
“The county PEP money is waiting for us once the pool decision is made,” he said.
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