Danville aldermen are far from a consensus on the east side Garfield Pool, with some aldermen favoring a renovation project and others wanting to build anew.
City Engineer Sam Cole says that $3.75 million could be spent on a new liner for the shuttered pool that would give it an extended 30 years of use, while a new pool would cost at least $10.4 million and would last for the same time frame.
Alderwoman Brenda Brown is in favor of building a new pool. She says when the pool originally opened, it was a point of pride for many kids, including herself, since many of them could not afford a private pool membership.
“I really would pray and ask that we would think about this other than just being cost-effective,” she says. “Let’s look at how this will fill some of the hearts of these children that do not have this privilege to go swim in a pool.”
Alderwoman Heidi Pertell, whose ward includes Garfield Park, also says she is in favor of building a new pool. Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. says it could also be built on the site of the old ballfields at the park instead of the industrial area it is currently located at.
The Mayor does say he is concerned about the city’s reserve fund drying up, and that renovating the existing pool would still bring about a welcome result.
“Essentially, everything else would be new–new diving boards, two new water slides that would be put in there,” he says. “The bathhouses would be completely rebuilt and rehabilitated.”
Aldermen Rick Strebing, Sherry Pickering and Aaron Troglia all say they favor rehabilitating the current pool.
City officials announced back in March that the Garfield Pool would not be open this year. Public Works Director Carl Carpenter says the gutters are broken and cracks have appeared along the walls and floor. Cole says a decision needs to be made by the summer on what to do about the pool.
