MONMOUTH, Ill. — There's no one jumping off the diving board or swimming around Monmouth's new community pool just yet, but the Pattee Water Park is ready to open.
Warren County YMCA CEO Sam Brooks says it was supposed to open this summer, but they still haven't gotten final approval from the Illinois Public Health Department.
"It is delayed because of the pandemic," Brooks says. "(The department) has a lot on their plate."
The new water park cost $4 Million, and it's a project that's nearly two years in the making. It was made possible by a donation from the Pattee Foundation after the city closed down its 50-year-old pool at Citizen's Lake Campground in 2017.
"(The old pool was) consuming a lot of water that was leaking through the bottom and sides of the pool," City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher says. "The city was spending about 80k a year to keep the pool open."
The new pool has a modern design, with a splash pad area for younger kids and a deep end with diving boards for experienced swimmers.
"What we have here is the trend of modern pools," Brooks say. "Back in the day they had what they called 'box pools,' which was literally rectangles and squares."
Even though the Warren County YMCA will own and operate the pool, the city is contributing $20,000 a year over the next decade to help maintain it.
"It's much more modern than the pool the city operated and I believe it'll be a great success for the community of Monmouth," Steinbrecher says.
Once the Warren County YMCA gets the green light to open, which Brooks says will hopefully be in a few weeks, the pool will open until about school starts in August.
The Pattee Foundation donated another $25,000 so admission at the pool will be free for everyone the first two weeks.
"We feel like not just the city of Monmouth, but the state of Illinois and everywhere, needs something positive," Brooks says. "We're hoping this can bring that positive vibe."
When the pool opens, it will operate at 50 percent capacity with social distancing guidelines in place to follow phase four of the Restore Illinois reopening plan.