Irving Residents and stakeholders are invited to attend a public meeting on the Master Plan of the proposed South Irving Aquatic Facility at Senter Park, 901 Senter Road.
The 2019 Parks and Recreation Master Plan identified Senter Park swimming pool as a potential location for a future aquatic facility. The city has hired Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects, Inc. to provide a community-driven needs assessment for a new South Irving Aquatic Master Plan.
The plan calls for replacing pools at Lively and Senter with more modern aquatic amenities. Many Irving residents have voiced their displeasure online at the news that the pools would be closed permanently and replaced by splash pads. Some of the uproar is based on misinformation. The plan calls for indoor pools instead of splash pads.
Senter Park Recreation Center was first constructed in 1954 and has undergone three expansions/renovations since its establishment: 1970, 2000, and 2018.
According to the assessment, "Senter Park Pool opened in 1954, with an average annual attendance of 10,086 over the past five years, amenities include a roughly 9,200 SF pool and restrooms. Programs offered at Senter include open swim, lap swim, learn to swim, water fitness classes, and advance swimming lessons. Similar to Lively, there has been substantial water loss at the Senter Park Pool. Options to consider in the future include replacing the pool with a more modern amenity."
Under Aquatic Facilities Assessment, the master plan states, "looking at recreation pool trends both nationally and regionally, providing indoor leisure aquatics has become more desirable in communities similar to Irving. Currently, this type of pool is not available in Irving. By making indoor pool options available this could provide for year-round swimming opportunities, which is a draw for young families. [...] One near-term recommendation is to phase out the under-performing traditional outdoor pools that have significant issues and replace them with more modern aquatic amenities."
Attendees will have the opportunity to share ideas, vision, requests and concerns about the project at this meeting.
The date of the meeting is May 3, 2023 from 6 pm to 7 pm at the Senter Park Recreation Center.
