A decade in the making: A look at what’s next for Peru pool

Shaw Local staff members selected the stories that have made the biggest impact in 2024 and looked ahead at what’s next in 2025 for a year-in-review series.

Peru residents have been in an ongoing debate since 2011 whether to construct a swimming pool.

In February, former alderwoman Sherry Mayszak collected signatures to put a referendum on the ballot asking residents if the city should construct and operate a municipal swimming pool funded by the use of the hotel/motel tax.

In November, residents passed the referendum with 68.6% of the vote.

I want the project approved, plans made and ground broke this summer.”

—  Sherry Mayszak, Peru resident

Aldermen Rick O’Sadnick and Andy Moreno; Parks and Recreation Director Adam Thorson and referendum originator Mayszack were selected by Mayor Ken Kolowski to be on a committee. O’Sadnick said Peru resident Christine Mitchell, who is the former manager of the Spring Valley swimming pool, recently was added to the panel.

He said the committee’s main task in the upcoming months will be to review past swimming pool efforts. Professional reports have been completed and the committee will prepare recommendations as Peru moves forward.

“The Committee will weigh potential costs versus design aspects of a municipal swimming pool project,” he said. “Potential pool location sites will also be discussed in the context of what will be in the best interests of the city of Peru.”

O’Sadnick said the committee will be the first step in gathering information and preparing recommendations prior to being handed off to the City Engineering and Zoning Department.

“Engineering would then likely draft and prepare a Request for Proposal (RFP) for qualified architectural firms to present conceptual designs and more specific costs for Peru to move forward,” he said. “Those results would then proceed to the Peru Public Works Committee for consideration before going to the full City Council for a final vote.”

O’Sadnick said the first meeting of the pool committee will not take place until after the holidays. Meeting times and frequency have yet to be determined.

Mayszak said her first choice for the swimming pool location is where it was located originally at Washington Park. It is directly in the center of Peru.

“If the location is at Veterans Park or the proposed sports complex area west of the mall, it will not be easily accessible for lots of kids on bicycles or walking,” she said. “So although the referendum process was long and time consuming, I feel this process of getting the aldermen to vote yes may be much more difficult.”

Mayszak said she has been an advocate for bringing back an outdoor swimming pool to Peru since 2011, when she was appointed to the council by Mayor Scott Harl.

“The reason I started going to council meetings was because the pool was shut down and talk was that it would be demolished,” she said. “I wanted to do something to bring a pool back. I begged the council to put some money away each year in a fund for a future swimming pool and was told no each year.”

Then in 2022, when Mayor Ken Kolowski presented the idea to the council to utilize the hotel/motel tax to fund a pool, Mayszak said she was disappointed he was voted down 7-1 and wanted to give the residents a voice.

“I decided to pursue the swimming pool referendum in the fall of 2023 because I knew with the election for mayor in 2025, if Mayor Kolowski got beat by somebody running for mayor who was not in favor of a swimming pool, the pool project would be dead again. I felt I could not take that chance,” she said.

By August, Mayszak had turned in 562 signatures; only 331 were required.

However, some aldermen wanted the public to be informed about the possible implications of utilizing the hotel motel tax prior to the election.

During an Aug. 12 council meeting Finance Chairman Tom Payton requested a town hall or Facebook live meeting to bring up plans for the pool prior to the election.

“Let everybody see what you want to do, where you are going to put it, how much it is going to cost,” he said during the Aug. 12 meeting. “What’s it going to be for the average person to get in.”

Alderman Mike Sapienza said during the same meeting the public needed to hear the other side of the story, adding that he was not certain which side he landed on, but he advocated for an open discussion before election day.

On Sept. 27, a speciality meeting was held to discuss the financial impacts of the pool prior to election day and with the large crowd in support.

Now in the hands of the council the non-binding referendum still has more to go before it becomes a municipal pool.

Mayszak said her goal is to get the information to the council by the end of January 2025, at the latest.

“I want the project approved, plans made and ground broke this summer,” Mayszak said. “My biggest disappointment with this entire project is the fact that it became a political battleground with misinformation and needless accusations. The swimming pool is an amenity for our families and our children, just like every playground, ball park, hockey rink and tennis/pickleball court and it shouldn’t be political. It is something Peru had for decades and it should never have been lost.”