The Maryville Parks and Recreation Board heard the findings of a pool feasibility study at its Nov. 17 meeting, offering a look at options for updates to the city’s popular, though aging, aquatic center.
The current pool, the Maryville Aquatic Center (MAC), is an outdoor facility located at Beal Park. It opened in 1994, and is showing some age, according to an architectural analysis conducted in 2023. That analysis formed a baseline of information for the recent study, which was conducted by Waters Edge Aquatic Design.
“The objective of the study was to determine three things: [what would it take to] repair what we have, renovate what we have, or look at the feasibility of a potential indoor facility,” said Maryville Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Stubblefield.
The study recommends over $3 million of repairs to address deferred maintenance at the MAC, including updates to the changing areas, bathrooms, filtration systems, and resealing the pool itself.
Waters Edge also surveyed residents as part of the process. Over 90% of the roughly 500 respondents are in favor of developing a swimming facility in Maryville. 60% of respondents also said outdoor and indoor swimming are equally important to them.
But Stubblefield said maintaining multiple pools would be financially “unfeasible” for the city. On top of that, he said, “an indoor facility would cost $20 to $25 million [according to the study], and the Parks Department does not have the funds to do that right now.”
The bonds on the Maryville Community Center, which opened in 2003, will not be paid off until 2029, which limits the Parks Department’s options for borrowing funds.
Nonetheless, Waters Edge presented possible designs for an indoor pool added to the Maryville Recreation Center, along with indoor pickleball courts and an additional gymnasium.
The idea of an indoor pool is persistent, despite its expense. “There’s a certain segment of the population that wants an indoor facility,” Stubblefield said. “But now the questions that the park board and citizens have to consider is this: not only is it feasible, but is it sustainable?”
Public indoor pools are scarce in the region. The city of St. Joseph is working on plans to build a pool in collaboration with the city’s YMCA. Clarinda, IA has a pool, which was funded by the Lied Family Foundation.
The current MAC is well-used. As “the only public pool in Nodaway County it is a popular destination for summertime activities,” Stubblefield said.
The timeline for action is unclear, but with some elements of the Aquatic Center already in poor condition, the city will need to choose a plan shortly.
