Mechanical problems close Fox Point pool, neighbors discuss options
FOX POINT, Wis. - There doesn’t have to be water in the Fox Point pool for it to be making waves. Public comment lasted more than two hours at a village meeting held Tuesday, July 11, with speakers mostly focused on whether the community should have a pool.
In June, residents learned that mechanical problems closed the pool for the season, opening up discussions about what happens next.
The majority of speakers at a packed meeting Tuesday night made it clear that they want a pool for the years to come.
"We are feeling a void," said Kate Battle. "My daughter’s 6, and she’s learning how to swim. She just loves her pool. When her favorite pool was closed, she was devastated."
"Do you want Fox Point to be the place that’s going to give up its gem?" a resident said.
The village meeting overflowed with residents like Battle leading a battle of sorts to keep the pool as a community gathering spot in Fox Point.
"It’s not just like a nice thing to have," said Battle. "It is actually an integral part of our community."
The current pool may be beyond saving. When announcing it would be closed for the 2023 season in June, village leaders pointed to "irreparable mechanical problems with facility plumbing," noting that required replacement parts aren’t even made anymore.
This pool first opened in 1968, village managers said, adding that public studies show the pool has long exceeded its useful life.
A few residents at the meeting said they're worried about pouring more money into a new pool.
"Sentimentally, I love the idea of a pool," a resident said. "My kids use the pool. Then I look at this and think are we really being fiscally responsible?"
Most who spoke from all generations gave strong support to having a pool, asking the village to try to find a way to fill the current gap.
"Fox Point pool is the sparkling jewel of our little town," a resident said.
Fox Point pool
"We would want something very similar to this pool that the whole community can love and enjoy just like this one," said Battle.
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A resolution on Tuesday night's meeting agenda would create a municipal pool citizens committee to help find or create an entity to fundraise $4 million, approximately half the cost of a new municipal pool.
Fox Point pool
FOX6 reached out to village managers and all the trustees. We heard back from only one trustee who said she was looking forward to hearing from the community and pointed to past surveys showing the community is largely in support of having a pool.