La Crosse pool committee has contentious first meeting

Members had conflicting ideas about pool and studies

A city pool committee had its first meeting Tuesday night to determine the future of La Crosse’s Memorial Pool.

It was a contentious meeting. One where members were disagreeing on what the purpose of the committee should be.

It was also a battle of conflicting studies and ideas. Like renovating or replacing the pool at its current location? Or building a new pool offsite? 

Neighborhood resident Jacob Sciammas says it was a tough meeting to be at with different people seemingly having different agendas.

“I saw people describing other dreams for facilities that are much more expensive, much larger, that don’t seem to have a public purpose that’s been described by the many city surveys that were completed,” Sciammas said.

Sciammas supported a study done by Issac Sports Group, which projected replacing the pool at $2.5 million and opening in 2018. 

The committee was fairly split down the middle on whether to consider other options, prompting adviser and La Crosse Parks and Rec. supervisor Jay Odegaard to recommend getting on the same page first.

“So, half the committee goes to the park board and says ‘Yeah we approve this,’ and the other half the committee is calling people on the phone saying, ‘This doesn’t make any sense,’ ” Odegaard said. “The report is going to carry no weight.”

Sciammas also stated the committee’s direction from council was to find a solution to keep Memorial Pool in it’s current location, a notion others on the committee disputed.

Representatives from Burbach Aquatics, which also conducted a study were in attendance, as well. They agreed to continue working with the committee as they go through their options. The committee will meet again in December.