Rochester’s going to keep its pool access at Silver Lake Park thanks to a $5 million proposal that would see the city slightly raise property taxes to pay for a new pool.
The Rochester City Council Monday voiced support for the proposal to build a new eight-lane, 25-meter pool, turn the current pool into a splash pad and build a new bathhouse. The new pool will be up to 4 feet deep; it’s designed with swimming classes in mind.
The project will be paid with a combination of sales tax money from a 2012 referendum and a 0.5% property tax increase to cover borrowed funds. City officials say it will take eight years to pay off the project bonds; the increase is expected go toward park maintenance after that.
“We’re going to get good value for what we’re investing in,” Council member Mark Bransford said.
Parks officials have sought to replace Silver Lake’s pool for years. The splash pad was first part of a 2016 parks system plan, then included in a master plan for Silver Lake Park renovations in 2022. Yet aquatics advocates are concerned shutting down Silver Lake Park’s pool would hamper efforts to hold swim classes.
The pool at Silver Lake is one of only two outdoor pools in Rochester. The new aquatics center at Soldiers Field Memorial Park is set to wrap up construction this spring and open in June.
Council members urged city staff to tweak the project by pursuing grant funding or potentially making the pool bigger, but city staff say swim advocates approved of a smaller pool at Silver Lake Park.
Council Member Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick called the smaller pool “grossly inadequate,” arguing kids living on the East Side won’t have the same kind of access as kids near Soldiers Field.
