Boarded up since 2002, Moody Pool has since sat neglected, a barefaced example of urban decay. But the hulking, 54,000 square-foot, red brick building at 2200 W. Burleigh St. will be demolished soon. The Milwaukee County Board voted in early November to uphold County Executive Chris Abele’s veto of a measure to allocate $2 million to begin renovating the indoor pool facility. As a result the structure and adjacent wading pool will be torn down and replaced by an outdoor splash pad, 3,000 square-foot community building, small playground, lit parkways, basketball courts, community gardens and other amenities. Abele cited the high cost of the renovation project as the reason for his veto. “We have a serious fiscal situation here that doesn’t give us the luxury to overspend for any of the many departments or divisions we have,” Abele said. He added that his main goal is to eliminate a county deficit created by what he called bad fiscal decisions. “What matters to me most isn’t just the people who talked to the supervisor about one pool at one park; it’s the million across the county that I promised to balance the budget,” Abele said. Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing! County Supervisor David Bowen, who represents the area where the pool is located, is dismayed with the decision. “I think the neighborhood has been neglected for a long time by the county; it would’ve been a great gesture to bring the pool back,” Bowen said. When the Moody Pool is demolished, only three swimming pools will be left on the North Side of the city: near the border of Whitefish Bay, in Washington Park and on the far northwest side. There are five swimming pools on the city’s South Side. The saga of Moody Pool, a Milwaukee County facility, includes years of delays and unfulfilled promises. Between 2002 and 2010, no plans were made for the pool and building, as they steadily deteriorated. In 2010, the County Board issued about $5 million in bonds to fully restore Moody Pool, overriding a veto by then-County Executive Scott Walker. When the plan came back to the table in October 2012, county supervisors, in a 10-8 vote, once again approved the pool’s restoration, with a price tag of more than $8 million. Abele vetoed the measure along with 22 other County Board allocations in late October. The board overrode all but five vetoes. Abele’s veto of the Moody Pool restoration plan stood. The new plan to build a community center, splash pool, basketball courts and parkways will cost slightly more than $2 million to complete. The remaining $3 million in bond proceeds will be used to improve Lindberg, Johnsons, and other north side parks. “The new plan serves more people and allows more investments,” Abele said. Supporters of the current plan said a restored Moody Pool probably would have met the same fate as the original pool. Despite being newer than most county pools, Moody was one of seven recommended for closure as part of the 2001 Milwaukee County Department of Parks’ aquatics master plan. The goal was to save money by eliminating low usage, high maintenance pools. Five of the seven pools were eventually closed. One, the Lincoln Park Pool, was replaced by the $8.4 million David F. Schulz Aquatic Center, 1301 W. Hampton Ave., in 2009. After Moody closed, parts from the pool were cannibalized for use in some of the county’s remaining pools. Inaction reaction The wading pool adjacent to the building is full of brown murky water and shows various other signs of neglect. (Photo by Edgar Mendez) When the County Board approved the plan to rebuild the pool in 2010, then-County Supervisor Willie Johnson Jr. was thrilled. He’d worked for years pushing the county to do something with the site, which by then had become rife with trash, drug activity and violence. Neighborhood residents who had gathered several times before the vote preferred a complete restoration of the pool, though some supported the current plan, according to Johnson. Restoration work was to begin in 2011, but the year passed and nothing happened. According to Johnson the inaction was harmful to the neighborhood. “(The county) could have torn the building down five years ago or started working to restore it rather than just letting it sit,” Johnson said. According to James Keegan, interim parks director for Milwaukee County, nothing happened after the 2010 allocation because the original estimate of $5 million to renovate the structure was flawed. In addition, consultants found that yearly maintenance fees would run more than $300,000, though Keegan acknowledged that yearly maintenance at other county pools is about the same amount.