The Worthington Pool will be facing a renovation per the Worthington vote to pass Issue 19 on the November 5, 2024, ballot. Changes need to be made to the pool, although pool memberships have stayed consistent, fewer guests are using the pools than ever. The amount of money spent on this project would depend on whether the pool is renovated, reconstructed, or repaired. Whatever the plan, most agree that some change is necessary.
Ella Flores(TWHS ’25) has been a lifeguard at The Worthington Pools for a year and thinks the pool should be renovated.
“The repairs at this point are so extensive and costly that it would be beneficial for everything to be redone so there is an improved environment,” Flores says.
Another lifeguard at the pool, Jo Thompson (TWHS ’25), agrees.
“They need to repair things that need it but with how many things that need it, it would be cheaper to renovate the entire facility than to keep repairing things every year,” says Thompson.
The involvement in any significant change to the Worthington pool facilities will require a property tax levy on the ballot. The city council surveyed Worthington residents to see their views. Worthington Pools’ private nonprofit owner and operator announced it had secured $1 million in state funding that was meant to go toward a $4.6 million renovation project. The replacement of the pools is estimated to cost $11.4 million. Property owners will have to pay $33 for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised property value.
Flores says she is 50/50 on the pool levy despite her acknowledgment that they need to be renovated.
“It is a lot of money but I also think it would become a more popular place and bring joy to many families. Overall, I think it would be worth it but would take a long time,” Flores said.
After people approved the levy it was clear that people had different opinions, but the majority thought the tax increase was worth it for the new facilities.
“With how popular the pool has become the levy can be seen as beneficial and worth the cost, although it is a larger amount of money added on,” said Thompson. “I do believe [the community] would enjoy the new features that they would be able to experience.”
Once the pool is renovated, it will have a ninja cross, which is a ninja warrior course. It will also have more play features, new slides, and an aqua zip, a zipline over the water.
Ella Flores says she thinks the new pool will cause a lot more stress for the lifeguards.
“There is so much more we have to pay attention to because of all the new features being added,” Flores says.
But with that stress comes a trade-off with the potential for rising popularity
“It could attract a larger population and bring in more people, which would make it somewhat stressful,” Thompson stated. “Our whole staff is very well trained and we have multiple services to keep our skills at their best, as well as during the summer we would have audits to put us in real-life scenarios. I do believe that our staff could adjust well to these plans and always be ready for any accident to occur to handle it in the best possible way.”
