Lexington Parks and Rec proposes $10 million plan for aquatic center in Shillito Park

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A Lexington pool could be in for a major upgrade. In a council work session, Lexington Parks and Recreation proposed a $10 million plan for an aquatic center in Shillito Park. The money to pay for it could come from the American Rescue Plan.

It’s something that was proposed several years back, but the cost of the project was a hang up.

The $10 million plan to turn the Shillito Pool off Reynolds Road into a regional aquatic center would include upgrades like slides, a lazy river, a shallow water pool for small kids and more.

It’s an attempt to attract more people to the park.

Monica Conrad with Parks and Recreation said this pool was picked as a possible site because of its accessible location and ability to expand with plenty of land on all sides.

A family we talked to at the park is excited about even just the possibility.

“That’s going to be something totally different definitely than what Lexington has. Nicholasville has their little water park and Richmond has theirs but Lexington doesn’t have anything like that so we’re excited any things aquatic,” Kylene Krupp said.

The city has roughly $114 million in American Rescue Plan Act money it has to allocate over the next two years. The city can use those funds for park projects.

The presentation set a proposed completion date for early summer 2023 if the city decides to move forward with the plan. But the council is still discussing how they want to spend the American Rescue Plan Act money.

The information about the proposed changes at the park is on pages 31-47 of this document:

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