Litchfield Park Board Delays $50,000 Diving Board, Pool Opens May 23

Article Summary: The Litchfield Park District Board of Commissioners voted May 6 to defer the purchase of a new low diving board — priced in the record at $50,000 — until next year, while district staff pursue a possible weld repair on the existing board. The district’s pool is scheduled to open May 23.

Diving Board and Pool Season Key Points:

The board voted to defer buying a new low dive board “until next year.” The minutes record the motion as carried but include no vote count.

The replacement cost is listed in the minutes as $50,000.00. No vendor, quote or funding source appears in the record.

Staff were awaiting word from a contractor on a temporary fix; if that repair cannot be performed, the minutes say the board “will be out for the season.”

Pool orientation and clean-up are set for May 16, with the pool opening May 23. Staff reported the pool is fully staffed.

LITCHFIELD — The Litchfield Park District Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, voted to put off buying a new low diving board for the district’s pool until next year, opting instead to explore a weld repair on the existing board, as the district reported it remains on track to open the pool May 23.

The motion, made by Treasurer Brian Kulick and seconded by Vice President Katie Cross, was to defer the purchase of a new low dive board until next year. The minutes record that the motion carried, but they do not include a roll call or a numerical tally. Six of the board’s seven commissioners were present; Commissioner Christopher Bates was recorded absent.

The minutes put the cost of a replacement board at $50,000.00 and state that the existing low dive “needs to be repaired.” The item had come before the board previously — the minutes open the discussion with the phrase “as previously discussed” — though the record of this meeting does not say when that earlier discussion took place or what the board decided then.

Temporary Repair Hinges on One Contractor

The district’s near-term plan rests on a single outside repair. According to the minutes, district officials were still waiting to hear back from a contractor about a temporary fix of the low diving board, and if he is unable to perform the repair, the board will be out for the season. The contractor’s name is rendered unclearly in the document and is not repeated anywhere else in the agenda or minutes, so it is not published here pending verification.

Separately, the minutes note that the district “may have someone try to weld the low dive board.” No cost, timeline, scope or name is attached to that option in the record.

Pool Prepared for May 23 Opening

The remainder of the pool report described a facility being brought back online for the season. Maintenance staff had been power washing the pool and removing leaves. New well grates arrived the day of the meeting and were being replaced. The Litchfield Fire Department was scheduled to fill the pool on Monday, with Midwest Pool completing the pool start-up Thursday or Friday. Pool orientation and clean-up were set for May 16, and the pool was scheduled to open May 23.

Hiring is finished. The minutes report that interviews have been completed and the district is fully staffed for the season.

The pool falls under the board’s Pool committee, which is chaired by Bates. The board made no changes to its committee assignments at this meeting; the minutes state simply that “the assigned Committee Chairs remain the same.”

What the Record Does Not Say

The public record of this meeting leaves several questions on the diving board open. It does not identify who provided the $50,000 replacement figure, nor whether that figure reflects a written quote, an estimate or a catalog price. It does not describe what is wrong with the existing board, whether any other diving equipment at the pool is affected, or what a weld repair would cost against the price of replacement. No fund or revenue source is named for either option.

The minutes also do not identify who delivered the pool report in Bates’s absence, and they do not name the pool itself. No supporting documents, quotes or specifications were attached to the agenda.