Mills Pool to stay open

The city's parks department put a rest to talk of closing Mills Pool Tuesday.\nIn June, city officials floated the idea of shutting down the westside pool and replacing it with a sprayground facility. But the suggestion rankled many community members and city councilmen, who just approved a $6 million allocation to the parks department in the city's 2002 budget.\nMany even see it as a class issue. Some have suggested the city would never dream of closing the popular Bryan Park Pool on the wealthy south side of town.\nAt the Bloomington Parks Commission's monthly meeting late Tuesday afternoon, department officials ended concern about the pool's future. \n"We are not going to close Mills Pool," commission president Les Coyne said. "That's just not going to happen."\nParks officials are now focusing on renovating the pool. Parks Director Mick Renneisen said he's been trying to get an estimate on how much it would cost to repair the pool's large, expensive leak. Renneisen said he's had no luck to date.\nJohn Turnbull, the department's sports director, said in any event Mills Pool would receive $400,000 of the $6 million bond issued for renovations to city parks and amenities. Turnbull threw out the idea of adding a water playground on the shallow end of the pool. \nAnother option, Turnbull said, would be to add a separate sprayground feature on the pool's current site. It would involve a sprinkler park on a rubberized surface somewhere on pool grounds.\n"We talked about spraygrounds because they have been popular in other places," he said. "We want to increase participation in the facility."\nThe city will put off work on Mills Pool until 2003, Turnbull said. He encourages feedback from the public, noting that concerned citizens have nearly a year to discuss and comment on plans for the facility.\nMeanwhile, the parks commission voted unanimously to approve $1.1 million in improvements for Bryan Park Pool. The city plans to add more shade and two new slides.\nWith the commission's approval, the parks department can now seek a conceptual design. If the city receives an acceptable bid, Turnbull said work should begin as soon as October.\nThe parks department plans on using the lion's share of the bond on pedestrian walkways and bicycles paths. It also hopes to build a new 15,000-square foot skateboard park in Cascades Park.