Since the Takena Park wading pool closed permanently in August, neighbors and parents of children who used the pool have urged the city to replace it with something else.

In response, Mayor Sharon Konopa and representatives from the parks and recreation department are holding a public meeting starting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, to get ideas about what type of water alternative could be built, what it would cost and who would pay for it.

The meeting is in the Calapooia Room at City Hall, 333 Broadalbin St. S.W.

The 58-year-old pool donated by American War Mothers Chapter 3 of Albany was forced to close because it did not meet state health standards. It would have cost too much to bring it into compliance, said Rob Romancier, the city’s recreation and program manager.

The state mandated that wading pools without a circulation, filtration and disinfection system close no later than Dec. 31. Romancier estimated it would cost between $50,000 and $60,000 to install the necessary equipment, repair leaky pipes, build a mechanical box and replace the pool’s cracked base.

“We had neighbors approach us during the summer asking us what was going to happen with the pool and if we really had to close it down,” Romancier said. “They also asked us if something could be done to build something different.”

With finances as tight as they are at the city, he did not believe the city could contribute much but “we can see what we can do,” Romancier said.

Some people have offered to help raise money, others have said they would volunteer their time to build something and a contractor said he would like to help out. The owners of Sybaris restaurant in downtown Albany have said the eatery would hold a fundraiser, Konopa said.

To figure out what type of water feature could be built, Dan Benefiel of Knorr Systems Inc. in Portland has agreed to attend the Dec. 2 meeting. He is a specialist in swimming pool equipment, Romancier said.

Most people want a new wading pool.

“But it would cost the city too much money to staff a pool,” he said. “And whether the parks department lets private money build something in a public park is something to be decided. There is some history for doing that in this park with the pool.”

The city is going to save money by not having to demolish the pool, Romancier said.

Al DeVita of the Oregon and Southern Idaho Employers Training Trust at Adair Village has volunteered union labor to bust up the concrete pool, which would be considered a training exercise, Konopa said. The city would take charge of hauling away the rubble.