Lomira has Public Forum to Discuss Lomira Pool and Parks

On Wednesday Sept. 2, the Lomira Village Board hosted a public forum to try and answer one big question: What do they do with the pool in Sterr Park? This was not a formal meeting, so no voting was done. Instead, the board invited community members to come and give them their honest opinions on what could be done with the pool, as well as discuss what can be done to improve all parks in the village.

The meeting started with a presentation from Trustee Gary More on the costs of keeping the pool. In More’s presentation, he explained how the net cost of the village is around $40,000 a year to maintain. However, he also mentioned that the pool is rarely utilized throughout the time that it’s open, which is only about 65 days of the year. This year, however, the pool was closed extra early because of the lack of lifeguards available, which is another issue that is seen all across the county and state. Because of the lack of usage, they are losing money on the pool that they feel could potentially be used elsewhere, especially in other ways to improve the parks. The pool also needs some upgrades and replacements, like a new diving board, filtration system and slides, that the board feels might be too much of a gamble spending the extra money with the risk that it still won’t be utilized.

The board did offer alternative ideas on what they could do with the space if the pool were to be removed. They stated how they for sure want to upgrade the parking lot, bathrooms, Lion’s pavilion and kitchen. They also said that other options they could look at adding or improving are new walking paths, new picnic space, pickleball courts, basketball courts, a native flower and pollinator garden, a community landmark and more. They also mentioned that the additions and improvements would be funded by grants and donations, and not at the cost of taxpayers.

The board did not make any decisions at the time of the meeting. While some of them have their opinions on the pool – with some members wanting to find ways to keep the pool, and others thinking it financially isn’t work keeping – they wanted to hear the opinions and concerns of the public. About 13 community members showed up to the meeting and expressed their opinions on the matter, all of which are hoping to find ways to keep the pool.

One community member asked what removing the pool would do to their taxes, which the board replied it would not lower or increase the amount the community pays in taxes.

Another community member, a mother who is in favor of keeping the pool, explained her reasoning as to why her family does not use the pool. She said, “So often we would have the guards there, but they wouldn’t be in the water with the kids… most of them would be in the concession stands while one of them was on guard.” The mother also said that in the past, she had gone to the Dodge County YMCA, who helps manage the pool and trains the lifeguards, and the situation would continue even after the fact. And one of the issues here is that all the lifeguards, even the supervisor, are students.

Not only have there been issues with previous lifeguards which has caused families to stay away, but there are also issues with even getting people lifeguard certified, which means there is a lack of lifeguards even when the pool is open. Another community member asked how the village can promote the job more to students and the community. Trustee Jennifer Priesgen, who is also a school coach and a member of Friends of Lomira Parks, stated how she and others have tried to promote to students as much as they can, but none of them seem interested. Finding the interest and getting people to work towards their certification is the issue.

Trustee Eric Kohlmann gave a possible solution to this issue, which would be shrinking the size of the pool to meet regulations where it could be seen as a “swim at your own risk” pond. This would mean that the pool, which is currently 22,000 sq. ft., would need to be filled in until it was only 2,000 sq. ft. to meet these regulations. Anything bigger means lifeguards would need to be present, which is part of the current issue. The board worries about any legal concerns this may cause, even though there would be signs posted that there is no lifeguard on duty and it would be a “swim at your own risk” pond. Along with this option, and the option to get rid of the pool completely, once it is filled in, it can not be undone. These options would also cost the village more in the beginning, but save them money over time.

If you have questions, comments, concerns or ideas on what to do with the pool or the parks, email the board members. Their emails can be found on the Village of Lomira website at www.villageoflomira.gov/board. While a decision has not been made yet, one will need to be made before they figure out the budget for next year, which is in less than two months.