By ROD ZOOK
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The future of the Salt City Splash was discussed at length during Tuesday's Hutchinson City Council meeting. The discussion came during the year-end report from Hutch Rec, who oversees operation of the pool.
Hutch Rec's Tony Finlay says they are preparing to have a study done on the needs of the pool.
“We listed some dollar amounts on a few of the items,” Finlay said. “It’s really a need for the aquatics study that we’re partnering with the city on for this year.” Finlay says that could include a whole new aquatic center.
“Do we really invest in what these items are, maintain that current facility or should we look at a newer facility?” Finlay said.
Finlay says they hope to have the study underway during the summer while the pool is open, adding that, while a possible upgrade to the pool would be beneficial, the location of the Splash is not user friendly.
“Our attendance for the size of the facility we have and the size of the community that we have, we are not meeting attendance rates,” Finlay said. “There’s no other indication to me. The facility’s safe, it’s kept clean, always marketed, always have great evaluations on the facility itself, but it's hard to get to that facility.”
Parks Director Justin Combs says they are ready to send out requests for proposals for the study and hope to have that sent out soon.
“In that we’ll have a lot of community engagement,” Combs said. “So there will be some surveying on who is using the pool, how often are they using the pool, how are they getting to the pool? Just get a better understanding of the current use of the pool.”
In the meantime, Combs says they are working to address the short-term needs of the pool while preparing for the study.
“What we’re seeing is an aging facility, it’s still safe and still operates,” Combs said. “But we’re getting to a point we need to kind of decide, do we reinvest in Salt City Splash or do we move in another direction?”
The pool generated $204,430 over the summer and had $44,305 in subsidies from the city. Total attendance was down to 33,958 because of the pandemic.