DALLAS — Budget cuts haven't drained the pools just yet.
The Dallas Park and Recreation Board opted to reduce hours at community pools across the city, bucking a proposal from department staff seeking to close the older, less-used facilities to save money as part of city-wide budget cuts.
Instead, the park board instructed staff to reduce hours at the pools under consideration for closure -- only opening them three days a week, instead of the current five, Rudy Karimi, who represents District 14 on the park board, wrote on Facebook.
"Consensus was reached after plenty of discussion and some emotional plea from board members," he said.
Board President Arun Agarwal said in a text message that he instructed Park and Recreation Director John Jenkins to "come up with a long-term approach for old community pools, which are getting closer to end of life."
The department sought to close the facilities as part of $2.6 million of operating budget cuts aimed to meet city-wide reduction mandates. It described the nine community pools as "in disrepair" and said they have "lived past their useful life."
In a presentation Thursday, the department said none of the nine pools averaged more than 70 visitors a day -- at some, the estimated labor and maintenance cost topped $60 for each swimmer.
"At some point either we gotta close them or we gotta replace them," Jenkins said at last week's park board meeting.
He pointed out recent city bonds did not devote money to the upkeep of the aging facilities.
Jenkins offered to bus swimmers to newer aquatic centers, which won't be affected by the reduction in hours proposed Thursday, if the community pools closed.
Still, on a day that topped 100 degrees, park board members balked at the proposal to close pools and rejected an updated offer from Jenkins' department to close only four facilities.
To make up the costs of keeping the pools open, Karimi said the department will reduce the amount of money it sends to partner FC Dallas. Other partners, such as the Arboretum and Dallas Zoo, are already set to receive some reductions in the new budget proposal.
The guidance from the Park Board, Karimi said, is not final and is still subject to City Council approval when it debates the full budget.