Campus Connection

City looks to UWL research to gauge support for taxpayer-funded pool project

The City of La Crosse has again turned to UWL researchers for guidance on important decisions about the community’s future. La Crosse’s Memorial Pool was closed this summer after years of deterioration led to the need for at least $40,000 in repairs. Unsure how the community felt about investing tax dollars into renovating or replacing the pool, La Crosse Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department turned to John Kovari, UWL assistant professor of political science and public administration. Kovari administered a citywide survey this summer that found about 51 percent of residents would like to see the pool either restored or replaced at its current location. UWL students helped him process and analyze the results. The city looked to UWL for research assistance because of the university’s reputation for credibility, says Parks and Recreation Director Steve Carlyon. Kovari, who was contracted to do previous city research, brings professionalism and expertise to deliver informative and unbiased results, notes Carlyon. As an educator, Kovari was able to present the results in a digestible way.

“He took a complicated subject, boiled it down to the salient points, and presented it in an understandable way,” says Carlyon.

The city needed to gather as much community input as possible as it looked to the future of Memorial Pool, notes Carlyon. Collaborating with the university “right here at home” made that much easier to do. “Having the resource of a major university within the state of Wisconsin right here in our backyard is a tremendous asset,” he says. Kovari says he has long been interested in helping local governments and non-profits make better decisions through research. He brings more than a decade of experience conducting surveys and program evaluations for local governments and non-profits in the Milwaukee area. He also worked for a research center, the Center for Urban Initiatives and Research, while earning a doctoral degree at UW-Milwaukee. Continuing to share his expertise on such projects as a UW employee is an example of the Wisconsin Idea, the UW idea that education should influence people’s lives well beyond classroom walls. “A survey like this is also going to make sure people have a voice, and the decisions made about the pool project are really democratic,” says Kovari. The City of La Crosse Parks, Recreation & Forestry reached out to Kovari to do the survey on the heels of another study he recently completed for the city. The city research, which began in January 2015, found that La Crosse could save taxpayers anywhere up to 25 percent on their city property tax bill by avoiding duplication of services between the city and county. The city is now using that study as a blueprint to look for more efficient ways to offer services.

Pool survey methods and results

Kovari surveyed a random sample — 3,000 of La Crosse’s approximately 22,000 residential households across the city. He received about 700 responses, which is considered a statistically significant sample. Kovari worked with two public administration majors, Katelyn Hackman and Joe Glomski, to enter responses into a database and analyze the results. In addition to the 51 percent of residents who want a renovated memorial pool or a new, small neighborhood pool at the same location, the study also found another 20 percent of city residents want an entirely new, all-season aquatic center with upgraded features and amenities in collaboration with community partners. About 29 percent wanted the pool to close. The level of support for renovating or rebuilding the pool was higher than anticipated, notes Kovari. But he adds such strong support for capital projects is not surprising considering the city’s long history of investing in improvements to public schools and other projects. Kovari presented the survey’s results to the city’s Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department in late September. The survey will help guide the new Memorial Pool Steering Committee, appointed by Mayor Tim Kabat, as it looks into the options for the pool’s future and makes a recommendation to the full council. The city’s planning commission has allocated $250,000 in the 2017 capital improvements budget to do design and engineering preliminary work on the pool project.

Among the results …

• 23 percent wanted to see the pool restored to its original condition with historical 1938 features at its current location for a price tag of $4.5 million.
• 28 percent wanted to replace the pool with a smaller, neighborhood pool at its current location for a price tag of $2.5 million
• 20 percent wanted an entirely new, all-season aquatic center with upgraded features and amenities in collaboration with community partners for $7 million.
• 29 percent wanted the pool to close.