MARSHALL — This spring, the city of Marshall got the go-ahead from the state Legislature to hold a public vote on whether to extend its local sales tax. If the vote passes Nov. 7, the money raised by the sales tax will be used to build a new Marshall Aquatic Center, near the intersection of West College Drive and Saratoga Street.

Getting legislative approval was only one part of the planning process to for a new Aquatic Center, however. Over the past few years, the city of Marshall also had to consider what kind of features to put into a new aquatic facility, and where to build it.

City staff said the current proposed site was the best of a few different options, including Legion Field Park.

Design considerations for a new Aquatic Center go back to 2019, when 292 Design Group recommended that the city rebuild the pool. Their report said that “remodeling costs will be so high and will be so constrained that only replacement makes good economic sense.”

In 2021, members of the public were invited to feedback sessions to share their priorities and ideas for what should be included in a new Aquatic Center. A phone survey of roughly 300 Marshall residents also showed a majority of responders supported the idea of using the local sales tax to pay for future parks and recreation projects.

Architects for the Aquatic Center project also worked on design concepts for a new pool facility in a few different locations around Marshall, including the current site at Legion Field Park.

In April, Marshall City Council members voted to move forward with a purchase agreement with Schwan’s for property to build a new Aquatic Center. The proposal was to buy the property at the corner of College and Saratoga for $468,000, contingent on the city getting legislative approval for the sales tax referendum.

In the lead-up to the Nov. 7 referendum, some Marshall residents have voiced concerns over the proposal to build a new Aquatic Center, and the choice of a site close to downtown.

Marshall resident Ron Labat said he had concerns about both the cost and location of the proposed Aquatic Center.

“Location is number one. In my opinion, that location is the wrong spot,” Labat said. The intersection of Saratoga Street and West College Drive was one of the busiest in Marshall, and a potential danger for children walking or biking to the pool, he said.

In addition, Labat said, “I’m not convinced the current pool can’t be repaired.”

“Something needs to be done” about the Aquatic Center, Labat said. “I think there’s more economical ways this could be done.”

Labat used the example of the city of Crystal’s plans to repair leaks in its city pool as a possible less costly option than the $18.37 million to be raised in Marshall sales taxes. This year, Crystal received a $2.35 million state bonding appropriation to help reconstruct part of the Crystal Cove Aquatic Center. In addition to state bonding money, the city of Crystal will be contributing about $2.75 million to the project, said Crystal recreation director John Elholm.

However, there’s not an exact comparison between the Crystal and Marshall pool projects.

“Every city is different. Circumstances are different,” Elholm said.

Crystal is only planning to replace the deep end of its aquatic center, which includes lap lanes and a diving well, Elholm said. Crystal had already rebuilt two-thirds of its aquatic center in 2005. Because of cost constraints, the city wasn’t able to rebuild the entire center at once, he said.

The 2005 portion of Crystal Cove is currently in good shape, Elholm said. But the deep end, which was part of the original 1968 pool structure, is leaking. The city of Crystal plans to remove the main pool container and build a new container and gutter system, he said.

When looking at options for the Marshall Aquatic Center, “There were many different reasons we chose not to go back to the current site,” said Marshall City Administrator Sharon Hanson.

Stockwell Engineers came up with a concept for a new Aquatic Center on the existing site at Legion Field Park, but ran into some challenges. One was that the Redwood River floodplain placed limits on how the site could be developed. There was also limited space for parking, and only one access point for traffic going to or leaving the Aquatic Center.

Having only one way in and out for vehicles wasn’t ideal if emergency responders needed to get to the Aquatic Center, Hanson said.

In a survey and input sessions, members of the public also expressed strong interest in having additional features like a lazy river and a zero-depth entry pool at the Aquatic Center, Hanson said. It would be difficult to build all those features in the available space at Legion Field Park, she said.

Stockwell considered other possible sites for the Aquatic Center, including the former site of West Side Elementary, the city-owned softball fields near Channel Parkway, and the green space near the Schwan’s corporate office at the corner of Saratoga Street and West College Drive.

Of the three alternate sites, two weren’t a good fit, said Hanson and Marshall Parks and Recreation Director Preston Stensrud. The Channel Parkway property also didn’t have much space for parking, was in a windy area, and would potentially have some limits on its design due to being in the Marshall airport’s flight path.

The West Side site also had space and parking constraints, because the current owner of the property wanted to keep part of it for redevelopment, Stensrud said.

Labat said he thought one possible option to build on city-owned property would be at Independence Park. However, Stensrud and Hanson said the open space and ponds at the park play a role in Marshall’s stormwater retention. In 2018, there was significant flooding at the park.

The site near Schwan’s was a better fit, Stensrud said.

“Ultimately, it kind of came down to trying to be centrally located. You’re protected from the wind, which is big for a pool,” Stensrud said of the site. The location would also be more convenient for swimmers and visitors. “It’s coming into downtown, it’s right by all these other facilities, from the YMCA to the library, to the Middle School and Southview.”

The site near Schwan’s would also be bigger, at 4.5 acres compared to the current Aquatic Center site’s 2.7 acres.

Hanson said part of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s plans to reconstruct College Drive a couple of years from now included updated traffic signals and crosswalks, which would improve safety for people at the Saratoga/College Drive intersection.

Hanson said the city is currently working on an agreement with Schwan’s for public use of the Schwan’s parking lot near the proposed pool site. While the agreement would still need to be reviewed by the city attorney, she said the terms did not include any lease costs for the city.