Worthington Outdoor Pool Takes a Belly Flop

In July, the city council approved adding $2 million more funding to pay for rising construction costs, inflation, and other budget pressures that were predicted increases before they asked for a levy. That raises the total project’s budget to more than $17 million.

The tax levy that voters approved covers $11.4 million of the costs. The additional $6 million is coming from other city sources, adjusted allocations, and debt.

City council made an additional unwelcome announcement. While the original plan had proposed opening the new outdoor pool in the 2026 Summer season. The anticipated opening has been delated to spring 2027.

Council Member Rebecca Hermann, who served on the Pool Task Force and is up for re-election is touting the pool redevelopment project as a main topic in her campaign. From the beginning of the redevelopment process (2023), I raised a red flag to the city Pool Task Force that we need to consider inflation costs and longer construction timelines. Rebecca boldly said she “fully trusts SwimInc” to direct the city in what should be built, and how much it will cost.

She and her allies were wrong to the tune of $2 million and 12 months of construction time.

Some critics have questioned whether the design is overambitious or overly focused on competitive swimming rather than broader community recreation use.