Battle continues over Memorial Pool in La Crosse

Neighborhood group near pool upset at city for considering other locations

It’s winter, the windchill could hit 30 below and, yet, there’s a raging battle over an outdoor swimming pool in La Crosse.

Though the fight over the future of Memorial Pool seems to have been decided, as it turns out, that’s not the case. The battle over replacing or renovating the depression-era pool wages on.

“It’s become so convoluted and there’s people in the community who are misconstruing information,” La Crosse park board chair Ryan Cornett said.

A neighborhood group around Memorial Pool is frustrated that the city’s recently formed pool committee is considering new locations rather than sticking to the original, 80-year-old site.

Cornett says the committee has a duty to consider all of the options to find a solution that is best for the long term in the city.  

“We did a very fair study that pointed to many options that are available and, I think, for the better of the community, you have to look at all the options,” Cornett said.

The neighborhood group around the pool are demanding that the city simply go for a relatively inexpensive renovation but any replacement or renovation, says the city, will cost millions of dollars.  

“There’s also a lot of misinformation out there, conspiracy theory information out there, which is pretty funny to me but we’re getting passed that stuff,” Cornett said.