MILWAUKEE — It's out with the old and in with the new as Milwaukee County Parks officials prepare to give its pools and other aquatic facilities throughout the area an upgrade.
"Some of our facilities are 80+ years old, some of our facilities are from 2008, 2009," said Guy Smith, the executive director of Milwaukee County Parks and Recreation.
On Tuesday, the parks and rec team announced that after 20 years, they've launched another aquatic facilities study. The $250,000 in-depth analysis will require input from both consultants working with the department and the community. That feedback will help determine what investments need to be made and what the future of the county's recreational pools will look like.
"We get this input, we look at our facilities, we see what conditions they're in, we can figure out various costs and it helps us be able to build our budget," said Smith.
Just one day after their public input survey went live on their website, the department received more than 700 responses.
"We want to know more about what they are pleased with, what they may use more of if we made investments towards those desires," said Sarah Toomsen, the planning and development manager for Milwaukee County Parks.
With more than 40 different aquatic-based facilities located throughout the county, including 25 wading pools, seven splash pads, eight outdoor pools, and three water parks, department reps say the study will also serve as a guide to combat lifeguard staffing shortages.
"A guiding document like this really helps us plan out that future and how we get there and how we need to be prepared in facility types and staffing to support the people who want to use those pools," said Toomsen.
"Does that require us to then remove another facility that already exists in our system? Potentially," said Smith.
The parks department will host a number of in-person information meetings regarding the aquatic study. The first one will take place on Tuesday, May 2nd, at the Kosciuszko Community Center from 4 PM to 7 PM.
To learn more about the study, click here.
To provide feedback on what you'd like to see, take the survey, here.
Upcoming Aquatic Study Public Meetings and Locations:
- Tuesday, May 2nd @ Kosciuszko Community Center: 4 PM to 7 PM
- Wednesday, May 3rd @ Lincoln Park Blatz Pavilion: 4 PM to 7 PM
- Thursday, May 4th @ Hales Corners: 4 PM to 7 PM
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