Some of Austin’s most iconic pools could be in danger of closing because of high maintenance costs. Austin City Council members on Tuesday proposed creating a task force to seek alternative solutions.
The Parks and Recreation Department presented the Aquatics Master Plan to Austin City Council last week, the culmination of five years of work.The report recommended $152 million in improvements and prioritized where that money should go based on suitability for repairs.
Two of Austin’s most iconic pools, Big Stacy and Deep Eddy, ranked low on that list. Some council members, displeased with the recommendations, called it a “decommission report.”
City Council was due to vote on the plan and its recommendations on Thursday. However, District 9 Council Member Kathie Tovo on Tuesday suggested a postponement and proposed the creation of a task force to dive into the 150-page report, seek out all avenues of actions and report back to council before they approve the plan.
Tovo said she did not feel comfortable moving forward with a report that put Deep Eddy and Big Stacy in danger of closing without first getting a closer look. She also cited reports she heard from people involved with the report that there was some disconnect between the work on the plan and its recommendations. Tovo said a task force would also give the public a better chance to look at the recommendations. Two weeks earlier, the Parks and Recreation Board declined to approve the plan in favor of reaching more of a consensus on its recommendations.
Tovo said a task force would also give the public a better chance to look at the recommendations. Two weeks earlier, the Parks and Recreation Board declined to approve the plan in favor of reaching more of a consensus on its recommendations.
District 6 Council Member Jimmy Flannigan and District 1 Council Member Ora Houston disagreed.
“I don’t know that another task force gets us closer to the realization that we have tough choices to make,” Flannigan said.
Houston said the parks and recreation department does public outreach “extraordinarily well” and that their years of work on the report should be enough for the council to vote on the report without recommendations from a task force.
District 7 Council Member Leslie Pool sided with Tovo. She said the District 7 representative appointed to work on the report raised red flags about the report’s results and expressed concern over the impact they would have on the city’s most beloved pools.
The proposal will have more time to take shape as council members were supportive of a postponement of the item from Thursday’s agenda.