Brooklyn Park Approves $54K Study of Possible Aquatic Facility
The sixth largest city in Minnesota has a robust park system, where you can play ball or take a walk to a nearby park, but it does not have a swimming pool. On Monday night, Brooklyn Park approved a $54,000 study of a possible aquatic facility.
Brooklyn Park City Council members have said on record several times that they are frequently asked why the city doesn’t have a pool or some sort of splash pad.
At a work session Monday night, city council members tackled the issue once again by hiring a consultant to produce more information about the project. The city needs to know more specifics about what residents would want, but also about how much the project could cost and how sustainable it would be.
“We need the facts and we need information from the experts who build these facilities so we can know what it takes to build them,” says Jody Yungers, director of recreation and parks.
Yungers says a recent survey from recreation and parks showed residents’ interest in an aquatic facility for families with slides and splash pad features as well as a zero-depth entry. However, no price tags were associated with that survey.
“I think the problem with everybody wanting an aquatic facility is there have never been any numbers attached to anything they wanted,” says Bob Mata, Brooklyn Park City Council member. “I want the numbers to be attached.”
Once the council is presented with the information from the consultant, they could decide whether to take the issue to voters in November. Many council members spoke in favor of letting voters decide on the project.
“Let’s go to residents and ask them,” says Mayor Jeffrey Lunde. “In order to do that, we have to know what the costs are going to be, how it might look structure-wise and who our partners may or may not be.”
The earliest the consultant information could be before the council is mid to late summer.
