Garden City reviews student input, hears from public on Big Pool

The City of Garden City’s Thursday night public information session about the Big Pool moved slowly, or at least at first.

The dozen residents present had countless questions, and the presentation’s opening was “very rough and very long,” said Assistant City Manager Jennifer Cunningham, who for weeks has spearheaded the city’s comprehensive community input process about the future of the Garden City landmark. But two hours later, after answered questions, righted misconceptions and candid conversation, the mood changed.

People were more open to compromise, to options and to what may come next.

“I really haven’t had anybody that has said ‘We can’t take out the Big Pool.’ When they listen and they really consider the options, and they really consider where we are, I haven’t really been met with anybody that said ‘No, let’s not do it,’” Cunningham said.

Faced with a nearly 100-year-old facility that loses more than 200,000 gallons of water a day when filled, attracts an average of 330 daily attendees and costs the city nearly $700,000 more than it brings in, the Garden City Commission approved a plan to ask residents via school visits, public sessions, surveys and more, what they want to do with the Big Pool or other public water recreation projects.