Whether Overland Park’s Bluejacket Pool will open for the summer — or ever again — is unclear at this point.
While no final decision has been made either way, a large leak has both city staff and some members of the Overland Park City Council questioning the long-term viability of the aging pool and if it makes sense to open the pool this summer at all.
On Wednesday, city parks and recreation staff told the city council’s Community Development Committee that a series of leaks are causing the pool to lose an estimated 1,500 gallons of water per hour. That water — and the chemicals used to treat it — is leaching into the larger 10-acre Bluejacket Park.
“It is what it is,” said city Aquatics Supervisor Kat Yates, “until [the pool] probably goes away or gets rebuilt.”
The councilmembers who sit on the committee expressed alarm at the amount of water being lost, concerned both about the cost implications and the environmental impact of pool chemicals spilling out into the park.
Bluejacket Pool has reached “end of useful life”
- The many leaks in the pool and other maintenance challenges suggest the pool has in fact reached “the end of its useful life,” said Parks and Recreation Director Jermel Stevenson.
- “We’re trying [to open the pool],” he said. “At the same time, we have a problem that won’t go away until we address it through some long-term capital program of some sort.”
- Stevenson called patches for the leaks a “band-aid,” adding that the leaks are really “all over” at this point.
- “From a stewardship perspective, that’s a lot of waste of water and money,” said Council President Logan Heley. “If it’s that significant, I’m not sure it should be open.”
- Of the city’s pools still in commission, Bluejacket also had the lowest attendance in 2023, registering just about 16,000 people after a few consecutive summers of closure.
Overland Park is looking long term at the future of city pools
Late last year, Overland Park started the process of overhauling its parks and recreation master plan. The new plan, called Playbook OP, will direct the city’s long-range future planning for all parks facilities, existing and those built down the line.
What will become of Bluejacket Pool in the future — whether to close it or rebuild it — will be decided in that process, Assistant City Manager Kate Gunja indicated on Wednesday. She said there’s a subgroup of individuals who are evaluating aquatic facilities as part of the Playbook OP study.
In the city’s current parks plan adopted in 2013, however, both Bluejacket and Stonegate pools are identified for closure as they reach the end of their lifespans (Pg. 36). Those closures were estimated to occur in 2023 and 2033, respectively.
Roe and Marty pools were both identified for closure in that plan, and Overland Park has since decommissioned both.
That 2013 plan also called for renovations to Young’s Pool and Tomahawk Pool to convert them to regional aquatic centers, plus the construction of a new aquatic center south of 151st Street (Pg 35).
Bluejacket Pool is still slated to open this summer — for now
- The city had initially planned to open Bluejacket Pool alongside all of Overland Park’s other pools for the 2024 swim season.
- Additionally, the city has staffed the pool for the summer season and still intends to open it, said Meg Ralph, communications manager for Overland Park. But, that’s subject to change.
- Overland Park “will evaluate water levels this month as the pool is filled, and may need to reevaluate with more information,” Ralph said.
What comes next?
- Overland Park city leaders have yet to make a final decision about Bluejacket Pool, either for the summer 2024 season or beyond that.
- Playbook OP is still in the early phases, likely to be finalized at the end of the year or early next year.
- In the meantime, Ralph said parks staff will have another presentation about the pools at the Community Development Committee meeting in May.
Looking back: Overland Park to turn old Marty Pool site into a new park
