SENIOR SUMMER SEASON. The Bernard F. Willi Outdoor Pool will reopen this June for its final season. The Chippewa Falls City Council voted last week to close the pool permanently. (Submitted photo)

A favorite Chippewa Falls summer option will disappear in 2023.
 
The city’s 200-capacity Bernard F. Willi Outdoor Pool, which is across the street from Irvine Park, will reopen in June for its final summer, Chippewa Falls Parks Director John Jimenez said recently. However, the water slide attached to the pool will not reopen this summer.
 
Jimenez said it would cost roughly $4 million to $6 million to repair and reopen the pool, which is something the city can’t afford right now. Another option is to tear down the existing pool and rebuild it, but that new facility would cost $6 million to $7 million. He said the city is instead weighing other options, including replacing the pool with a teen center, an enhanced splash pad, or basketball courts.

 The decision to not keep the location open past 2022 was approved last Tuesday by the Chippewa Falls City Council. The city cited crumbling infrastructure, staffing issues, and a lack of income as the reasons for closing the pool.
 
Jimenez said the city has been talking about closing the pool for more than a year, and the decision to close it permanently was not an easy one.

The Bernard F. Willi Outdoor Pool will be open daily from noon to 6pm between June 10 and Aug. 12. Daily admission will be $3/person; children 2 years old and younger are admitted for free.