Plans to consider a site to build a new city pool somewhere in Laguna Beach will move forward after councilmembers recently decided the city would not participate with the local school district in its plan to build a new 50-meter pool.
The City Council’s unanimous decision on March 12 followed research by a two-person ad hoc committee of Mayor Sue Kempf and Councilmember Bob Whalen, who have participated in discussion with Laguna Beach Unified School District officials since last fall about the district’s plan to upgrade and expand its current pool, which is now located across from Laguna Beach High.
The 25-meter pool is 30 years old and requires some $1 million in repairs over the next two years, officials have said. District leaders decided in December to proceed with building a 50-meter pool for $19 million. The design process will begin this spring, and the pool is expected to be completed by 2026.
City officials estimate it would cost at least $13 million to build, and $692,000 annually to operate, a new 25-meter pool for public use with the required parking, staffing and infrastructure.
In 2023, the city took in $320,000 from pool passes and registration fees.
After meeting several times with district officials and residents in the neighborhood, the councilmembers said they felt the city’s recreation programs could suffer if the city relied on the use of the district’s pool, given the district has priority use of the facility and would of the larger pool in the future. In the current agreement, the city pays 70% of the operational and maintenance costs and the district pays 30%.
The district has exclusive use of the pool from 1:30 to 6 p.m. during school weekdays, which means that some of the city’s recreational programming, such as youth water polo teams and swim lessons, are held between 6 to 9 p.m.
Councilmembers agreed that if the city operated its own pool, there would be greater program flexibility. Community aquatics classes could be…
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