Overland Park will not rebuild Bluejacket Pool, but will instead retool that space as part of a wider Bluejacket Park refresh.
Plans to improve Bluejacket Park have been in the works for some time following the city’s decision to close the roughly 50-year-old pool after the 2024 season due to its persistent leaking issues and other age-related problems.
Though the city has since demolished the pool, neighbors who loved Bluejacket Pool had hoped to see another pool go in that space.
However, those dreams were officially scuttled earlier this week when the Overland Park City Council narrowly voted to continue with the regional pool model prescribed in the old parks and recreation plan, and diverge from recommendations made in the draft replacement parks plan, Playbook OP.
Bluejacket Park refresh planning to start this year
Overland Park earmarked about $500,000 to begin designing improvements to the 10-acre Bluejacket Park, with a process likely to formally kick off this fall.
The exact details for that process and what might come out of it are unclear. However, after the decision on Monday to stick with a regional pool model, that won’t include space for a future pool.
It could include space for some kind of water play feature, like a splash pad or spray ground, plus things like new playground equipment, shelter space and other amenities that have been added to refreshed parks around Overland Park.
For instance, Overland Park is currently refreshing Marty Park, where there was previously a small community pool (like Bluejacket Pool) that the city decommissioned in 2022. That park will have a splash pad, a new playground, shade structures, a shelter and a tricycle loop.
Additionally, Roe Pool, which was in a wider 40-acre park, closed in 2015. Since then, Overland Park has added a splash pad that is free to the public and open annually between May and September. That park also has tennis courts, shelters, soccer fields and baseball fields.
Neighbors disappointed but determined to stay involved
Though several neighbors are feeling dejected after the whole Bluejacket Pool closure and aquatics decision process, they told the Post that they plan to get involved in the Bluejacket Park refresh conversations.
One such neighbor, Nicole Hesseltine, lives in the Oak Park Manor neighborhood near Bluejacket Park.
“I do think that there is a healthy dose of skepticism that a lot of us have,” she said. “I’m going to advocate for what we think is best, but at the end of the day, we aren’t the ones who make the decisions. The city is, and I can only hope that they’ll do something that is somewhat positive for our community.”
Hesseltine hopes the city can be “a little more thoughtful with the park than they have been” since she doesn’t feel Bluejacket Park has been adequately prioritized in the past. One thing she said she definitely wants to see is more shade structures throughout.
“I would really hope that they make this park actually usable and accessible during the summer months, because right now the only time that we can use it is after the sun goes down or before it gets too hot in the day,” she said. “That’s unfortunate when there’s so many children in this neighborhood that really want a place to go and a place to gather.”
Gordon Gregory, who lives next door to the park, offered similar ideas, hoping the city would invest in reimagining the space with the community in mind.
“I hope that they will build the park out a lot more, and just make it more inviting in terms of places to gather,” he said.
Councilmember Melissa Cheatham, who has tried to revive Bluejacket Pool, urged members to the public to weigh in on that process, even if they are disappointed.
“As we start that design process, please look for opportunities to share your input,” she said during the city council meeting on Monday. “I know right now you may not feel like your voice makes a difference, but nonetheless, I encourage you to show up in that design process.”
Bluejacket Pool patrons miss the pool
Still, neighbors miss the pool and the gathering space it offered the community.
“There were kids that would walk and bike to that pool all the time, and just like in the summer, it was a good opportunity for them to do something that wasn’t on a screen, that was outside in the fresh air, and also safe when it’s so hot,” Hesseltine said.
She’s not alone. Someone has posted “Save Bluejacket Pool” signs in Bluejacket Park in front of the field where the pool once was.
For some families, it’s made more sense to look to other cities for pools.
Rachel Shuck’s family of four lives close to 103rd Street and Nieman Road, which isn’t terribly far from Lenexa’s Flat Rock Creek Pool. So, for the past two summers, they’ve forgone Overland Park pool passes entirely and decided to get Lenexa pool passes instead.
Aside from a church party, they just haven’t been to an Overland Park pool since Bluejacket Pool closed, and they simply don’t intend to “anytime soon,” Shuck said.
The whole thing has left her feeling pretty disappointed.
“It sucks, that’s what it comes down to. It just does,” she said. “I’m sad.”
Keep reading: Overland Park won’t rebuild Bluejacket Pool, will someday close Stonegate Pool. What else pool plan says
