Oak Park and River Forest High School officials decided against choosing a site for a new swimming pool last week, instead opting to form another committee that will further study the issue and present a solution by the end of the year.
At a Sept. 23 meeting, District 200 board members voted unanimously to form a committee that will study potential sites for the pool and how to fund the project, which is estimated at a cost of $34.2 million to $37.8 million.
Committee members will be appointed by the board president, and all meetings will be open to the public, said district spokeswoman Karin Sullivan.
The recommendation to form the committee came after a motion to choose a pool site failed 4-3.
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“There were too many board members that still weren’t comfortable that they had enough information to make a decision,” said Board President John Phelan.
In 2012, a committee was formed to study options for a new pool. But because that committee met in closed session and due to high turnover on the board in 2013, current board members still have questions about the feasibility of constructing the pool at three potential locations, all of which have their downsides, Phelan said.
“There’s a lot of frustration in the community that we didn’t make a decision,” Phelan said, adding that he felt the creation of the new committee will promote a healthy discussion at the board level.
The high school currently has two pools, which were built in 1926 and are deteriorating. The school can’t host more than one visiting team at swim meets, according to officials. Larger meets must be held at an off-campus site.
Phelan said on Tuesday that he was in the process of designing the committee, which should begin meeting in the coming weeks.
“It’s all in very rough form right now that’s the nature of a project like this,” he said.