'They don't want to see the Blacks in the pools': Councilwoman rips Algonquin pool closure

The Algonquin Pool at 1614 Cypress St. is closed this summer. The pool opened in 1955. May 30, 2023.
The Algonquin Pool at 1614 Cypress St. is closed this summer. The pool opened in 1955. May 30, 2023.

A Louisville Metro Council member is accusing the city of racism in its slowness to make repairs to the Algonquin Park pool, which will not be open this summer.

Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins, who represents the area, made the comments during a press conference Tuesday where neighborhood leaders called for accountability in the ongoing fight for renovating the facility, the only city pool in western Louisville.

"It just seems that nobody's been motivated," Hawkins said in discussing repair efforts at the pool. "Some of the reasons that they've decided to put Band-Aids on it is probably because they don't want to see the Blacks in the pools."

She and neighborhood leaders plan to give children passes to go to other pools around the city, and she suggested that might compel the city to speed up Algonquin's repairs.

"Well, guess what: this year they don't have a choice. We'll see how quick that they get Algonquin renovated."

Unwelcome waters: Segregated public pools and its lingering effect on the Black community

Asked to clarify her comments Wednesday, Hawkins said she was suggesting that additional pressure to work quickly on the Algonquin pool may come from Valley Station, Crescent Hill and Fairdale residents who may see an influx of Black visitors at their pools.

"I will not say that it's a Black-white thing with the administration … but I would say a lot of other constituents in those areas would not be happy," she said.

Metro Parks and Recreation kept the Algonquin pool closed for the summer to allow for reconstruction "due to vandalism and current conditions of the pool," according to a post on the city's website.

Kevin Trager, a spokesman for Mayor Craig Greenberg, said in a statement Wednesday that the city plans to start work on major renovations at the pool by Labor Day.

"For too many years, the Algonquin pool did not get the maintenance and repairs the community deserved, and this negatively impacted the families and neighbors who have relied on that facility for generations," he said. "The residents of Algonquin deserve" the pool project.


Have something to say about today's news? Submit a letter to the editor here

What public pools are open?: Beat the heat this summer with these public pools in the Louisville area.

Louisville Metro Council President Markus Winkler agreed in a statement Wednesday with the need for the pool's renovations.

"I support all of our pools and parks being of the same quality, regardless of where they are located in the city," Winkler said. "I have already been working with Councilwoman Hawkins and the administration to ensure that Algonquin is rebuilt and opened as quickly as possible."

Hawkins said her more than 30,000 constituents want a functioning pool, and she cited the Sun Valley Park pool in Valley Station and the Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center in Crescent Hill as examples.

Hawkins, who took office in January, acknowledged that Greenberg's administration also is new and inherited the pool situation. She said she hopes to work with it on a solution and has advocated for an indoor pool, although the administration balked at that idea.

Tammy Hawkins
Tammy Hawkins

Last year, Metro Council allocated $6 million toward rebuilding Algonquin's pool and Camp Taylor Memorial Park's Norton Pool, which is also closed.

At Hawkins' suggestion, the mayor's administration included $100,000 for pool passes in its budget proposal so kids who would normally go to Algonquin could swim elsewhere. That budget item is pending approval in the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, the city is in the planning phase for reconstruction of the Algonquin pool. Renderings are expected in the next couple of months. Trager did not have an estimate of how much the work would cost.

A Nov. 7 Parks and Recreation aquatics master plan, which the city has since discontinued, estimated it would cost $4.5 million to reconfigure the pool into a "modern family aquatic center," while keeping a 50-meter lap lane length.

Metro government proposed an update to Algonquin Park's pool in November, which would include new zero-depth entry, climbing walls, taller slides and more. That aquatics master plan, filed when former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer was still in office, has since been discontinued, the city said Wednesday.
Metro government proposed an update to Algonquin Park's pool in November, which would include new zero-depth entry, climbing walls, taller slides and more. That aquatics master plan, filed when former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer was still in office, has since been discontinued, the city said Wednesday.

Logistics for the pool's operation will be determined by both park staff and the Metro Council.

Hawkins stressed that West End residents should be involved in the decision making, saying community organizations and volunteers in Algonquin can run any new office built at the pool.

"I don't believe in boards that make decisions for a park that they never walked in," Hawkins said. "And I'm beginning to see that happen way too much."

Patricia Newby, who organizes swimming activities such as Aqua Zumba for area residents, said at Tuesday's press conference the pool's closure will leave a hole in summer activities for children.

"It breaks my heart that the kids are not going to have somewhere to swim, and it makes no sense," Newby said.

Nelson Hornbeck Park's pool in Fairdale as well as Sun Valley's opened Saturday, joining Mary T. Meagher's indoor operations as the three public pools open this summer in Louisville.

You may like: Your 2023 guide to 25+ farmers markets in the Louisville area you don't want to miss

Reach reporter Caleb Wiegandt at cwiegandt@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @CalebWiegandt.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Algonquin Park pool: Tammy Hawkins alleges racism behind closure