Plans to reopen Hopkins Pool by summer 2025 uncertain, DeKalb Park District top executive says

DeKALB – Citing the many layers involved in the project, the DeKalb Park District’s top executive said it would be premature to say renovations to Hopkins Pool will be completed in time for summer 2025 as originally anticipated.

The pool has outdated parts and has exceeded its lifespan amid declining attendance and revenue over the past several years, Park District officials have said, leading to plans to demolish and then replace the structure.

“We’re moving forward with the demolition phase, and then we’re working towards the new construction phase, as well,” Executive Director Paul Zepezauer said. “Timelines have yet to be really established and where those timelines might fall, it’s too early to tell where exactly that might fall.”

At a recent Park District board meeting, several residents turned out in protest of the district’s proposed plans for Hopkins Pool, which would see the number of swimmers it could accommodate shrink by 25%.

DeKalb resident Emily McKee said that downsizing the pool does no one in the community any good.

“We’re doing a disservice to the community,” McKee said. “And in particular, we’re doing a disservice and we’re sending a message to the families that use the pool that they’re not as important.”

In an interview Friday with Shaw Local News Network, Zepezauer tried to address residents’ concerns about the proposed pool’s capacity.

The existing pool can accommodate 1,000 swimmers while the new pool could hold 750, Zepezauer said. That number is calculated by looking at the pool’s surface area.

“We have looked at our historical attendance and we feel like we can still provide the service with a bather load of 750,” Zepezauer said. “It won’t be the same capacity, but we feel like with what the historical attendance has been, there have been very few days where we needed more capacity than 750.”

DeKalb resident Alexis Ball said she believes the proposed pool renovation plan aims to shut out area teens and young adults.

“When I think of the idea that a community that has grown in the way DeKalb has grown, and we are thinking of reducing the size of the community pool, it is very counterintuitive,” Ball said. “I work with teens and young adults who need a place to be.”

Zepezauer said the board already has consensus on the new pool renderings.

The Park District previously said the renovation was estimated to cost $8.5 million and include work on the existing locker rooms, 25-meter lap lanes, new lifeguard offices and storage rooms, a new separate entrance to the pool, a new zero-depth entry pool with spray features and more.

The Park District board, however, has yet to formally authorize any construction bids.

Zepezauer said the pool renovation remains in the early stages.

“The project won’t really be official until the board approves construction bids,” Zepezauer said.

Demolishing the old pool, which officials have said has been around since the 1930s, would be at the top of the to-do list.

“The first step is to get the old pool out of the way,” Zepezauer said. “We’ll come back with the new construction. We’re really trying to separate the project into two phases right now.”

Also during the meeting, the board authorized Park District staff to apply for a demolition permit from the city of DeKalb.

“That’ll happen in the next couple weeks,” Zepezauer said. “After that, we’ll go out to bid for the demolition itself. We’ll award those bid. While all that’s happening, the architect is working on all the documents needed to go out to bid for the new construction.”

DeKalb resident Michelle McGill, acknowledging that Hopkins Pool may not open next season, urged the Park District board to do its due diligence.

McGill was a member of the district’s pool committee in 2022.

“Why not take a bit more time to change the design and obtain more funding to give the community a new pool that has the same capacity or larger and holds the best benefits for everyone in the community?” McGill said.