Hopkins Pool opens in DeKalb in time for Memorial Day weekend

May 2019 file photo - Hopkins Pool, while built in the early 1930s, according to park district documents, has an existing shell that’s nearly 50 years old. Plans to replace and repair the existing structure will continue April 28, 2022 at the DeKalb Park Board of Commissioners meeting.

DeKALB - Opening day for Hopkins Pool in DeKalb is scheduled in time for Memorial Day weekend.

The DeKalb Park Dsitrict’s pool is expected to open for the season at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The pool is expected to remain open for the full 2022 season, from May 28 through Sept. 5 and will not be interrupted by ongoing discussion at the park district about the aging pool’s future, said Katie Drum, marketing coordinator for the park district.

The Hopkins Pool Renovation Project has been a priority for the park district’s Board of Commissioners for about two years, according to district documents. Plans are underway for an advisory community group to be formed to help steer the district’s planning for pool prospects. If the district were to move forward with a complete pool replacement, a tentative construction timeline would mean a shortened season in 2023. The new pool would then be slated to reopen in 2024.

According to a 2020 community engagement campaign, district officials said they’ve determined the nearly 90-year-old pool means replacement is more feasible than repair because of structural cracking in the shell which can cause corrosion and weaken the pool structure. The pool, while built in the early 1930s, according to park district documents, has an existing shell that’s nearly 50 years old.

According to the park district’s website, next steps include soliciting engineering and architectural plans.

General swim hours for the Hopkins Pool season are from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Information about additional hours, daily fees, passes, rules, rentals, swim lessons and more can be found at www.dekalbparkdistrict.com/hopkins-pool.


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