LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Algonquin Pool is more than a pool to Ryan Brown.
“You know, me and my friends all would get together and come up here, and we would go swimming." said Brown, a single father who lives a few miles away. "Just a lot of fun. Fun times.”
It’s been a refreshing retreat, a hangout spot and a place of family memories to Brown, who grew up going to the Algonquin Pool often.
But the gate around it will likely stay locked this swim season.
“It’s frustrating to see, you know, just this waste," Brown said Friday as he peered through the chain-link fence at the empty pool.
The city plans to open two of its outdoor pools, with COVID-19 protocols in place, starting Memorial Day Weekend: Fairdale Pool at Nelson Hornbeck Park in Fairdale and Sun Valley Pool at Sun Valley Park in southwest Louisville.
However, the Norton Pool near Camp Taylor and the Algonquin Pool in West Louisville Will likely stay closed throughout the 2021 season.
“Why are they able to get the resources, but we’re not?” Brown wondered Friday.
Councilman Keisha Dorsey, D-3, agrees there is an inequity that needs to be addressed.
“If you look behind me, you know, we have a broken, rusted gate," she said during a Zoom call with WDRB News from beside the pool. "If you look to the left of me, you can probably see the pool house that has stood there since the Sixties.”
However, Dorsey believes keeping it closed during 2021 might be the best option, so savings can be spent on the goal of a bigger and better — maybe indoor — pool at Algonquin Park.
“Something that creates a 365 day operation that also further strengthens the community," said Dorsey.
But, so far, there’s no easy or cheap answer at Algonquin or at the Norton Pool in Camp Taylor.
But during a Thursday meeting, some council members did suggest that the city could budget more money now — not later.
Councilman Pat Mulvihill, D-10, floated several ideas to restart swimming at Norton Pool, but each came with a price tag.
“The status quo can’t remain," he said.
Back at Algonquin Park, Brown says he might be okay with bigger and better but wants to see a plan first.
“Our kids deserve a pool," he said. “We just need some transparency on the timeline on when we’re going...you know, if we’re going to stay closed for a while, you know, how long that will be.”
Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
