This website is best viewed in a browser that supports web standards.

Skip to content or, if you would rather, Skip to navigation.

Listen Live
Donate
MARYVILLE

KXCV-KRNW


News Brief

May 30, 2025 |  By: Gavin McGough

Long awaited public pool is likely coming to St. Joseph in the next two years

St. Joe pool

A public pool -- long awaited by many -- is coming to Saint Joseph. It is likely to open in the next two years.

Download .mp3

The City Council voted this Tuesday to grant final approval to the outdoor lap pool. The effort is a collaboration with the St. Joseph YMCA, which has secured funds for about half of the fifteen-million-dollar project, largely through donations. The city closed the deal by pledging about seven-million-dollars of tax payer funds to cover the remaining costs. The city will also contribute around a quarter-million-dollars annually to keep pool updates and operations moving forward.

Public comment at the meeting was robust, many voiced support for the collaboration, including city resident Sarah S. whose kids are copmpetitive swimmers. They haven't had access to an outdoor lap pool since the city's prior facility closed in 2019. Looking forward, she says, "With this partnership with the Y, we have such a great opportunity not just for the kids, not just to create something meaningful but also to create something that is going to last and something that is going to build our community". Some however oppose the project. Money for the pool is coming from a sales tax that city residents approved in 2021 to maintain it's park facilities. Residents including Sarah H. oppose giving those funds over to the Y, "I am categorically against reallocating these dedicated tax dollars to a project by a private entity over whose operation and bylaws, we have zero control". 

When it comes to a vote, however, Council members support the partnership. Michael Graham representing the fourth district voted against the project when it first came before council but Tuesday, he reconsiders.  "We have done what I think we could to make it fair for everyone. So as I have looked at this, I have certainly changed my mind and it is the best thing for the city."

Council members have discussed adding bus services connectiing the new pool to the downtown area. City residents will not have to be YMCA members to use the pool and will have access to discounted rates.  Council voted unanimously on the pool funding and was met with applause from the chamber. 

According to the YMCA, plans are being finalized and hopes to break ground on the project this fall or perhaps the spring of 2026. An opening date could land somehwere between 2027.