Krug Pool set for final summer in 2024

Apr. 17—One of St. Joseph's oldest pools will call this summer its last, paving the way for a new state-of-the-art facility in the coming years.

Built in 1958, Krug Pool will open for its final season at the end of June and wrap up at the end of July.

Significant costs to renovate the aging facility combined with sharp declines in attendance in recent years contributed to the decision to replace it with a new $2 million North Side Splash Park. Splash parks require less maintenance and supervision than a standard pool.

"We still need to be able to have swimming. But the level of swimming we were getting really didn't justify it," said Chuck Kempf, director of Parks, Recreation & Civic Facilities. "We noticed a big drop-off."

Krug Pool averaged between 30 and 40 people a day last summer, finishing with just over 1,000 people total for the season. By comparison, the Noyes Aquatic Center saw more than 110 people a day and 8,000 total in 2023 despite the absence of a lap pool.

Kempf said he doesn't see many cities willing to meet the high price needed to renovate pools as old as the 66-year-old Krug Pool, which only has one of three filters still working.

"When I go to meet at seminars or meetings with other parks and recreation people, you tend to hear about pools that were built in the '70s that are being replaced," Kempf said. "You don't hear about a lot of pools that were built in the 1950s."

After this summer, Krug Pool will be demolished. Construction on the new splash park will begin spring or summer of 2025. The splash park is expected to open spring of 2026 and be free of cost like the Hyde Splash Park.

Park officials will explore the possibility of constructing the North Side Splash Park as a hybrid splash park and play area with additional features, giving residents a year-round amenity instead of just summertime use like the Hyde Splash Park.

"We want to take advantage of everything we can in the design to maximize the space there and make it as useful as we can for folks that are there," he said.

The new North Side Splash Park is one of three large aquatic projects in the works, including $3.5 million for a new shallow swimming pool at Hyde Park and $1.5 million for significant renovations to its pool house.

Construction on the new Hyde pool — which will be located near the existing splash park — will begin in 2025, with the opening season tentatively scheduled for spring of 2026.

"We want to get as big a pool as we can," Kempf said. "We want that pool to blend in with the splash park. They will be two separate facilities, but divided by fencing."

The Hyde Splash Park is set to open for the summer season around May 1 and conclude around the end of September, depending on weather. Because the new Hyde pool will have a few feet of standing water, lifeguards will be present and there will be a cost of admission similar to other facilities, which is typically $3 to $5.

"If we can get that pool with some really nice play amenities and things, I think we would be happy with that," Kempf said.

Park officials are scheduled to start an eight-month design process in the coming weeks to discuss and devise plans for the North Side Splash Park and Hyde shallow pool. Park officials have been studying designs in other cities like Gladstone to gather a variety of ideas.

"Because Krug Park's across the street, we would like to maybe borrow some of the history of Krug Park, have some of the aesthetics of that splash park kind of mimic what we see across the street," he said.

After this summer ends, the only public lap pool that will be available for residents in 2025 will be the Thomas Eagleton Indoor Pool at Missouri Western State University. The city still has two years left on its contract with MWSU to operate it. Park officials project the pool could have eight to 10 years of life left.

The latest pool developments come as the city considers a partnership with the YMCA to build a new 35,000 square foot indoor aquatic facility in the North End. The indoor facility would include a 10 lane 50-meter lap pool for recreational and competitive swimming along with a variety of programs and components.