ST. CLOUD – Ever since the municipal pool here closed more than two decades ago, people have been asking for a new outdoor swimming hole that isn’t just a splash pad or wading pool.
That could become a reality soon — as long as the community steps up and raises the last third of the $15 million for the water park project planned at the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA.
“We will get a shovel in the ground as soon as we get these dollars raised,” said Greg Gack, executive director at the Y. “We’ve worked really hard over the last three years in the private, quiet phase of fundraising. Well, now we need to get loud. And now we need to finalize it.”
Gack said the Y has raised about two-thirds of the funding from families and businesses, as well as a $1 million commitment from Stearns County using one-time federal relief funding. Local legislators supported a $5 million bonding request this session but the request was not included in the final bill, Gack said.
The fundraising is not new to Gack, who helped plan and raise money for the YMCA facility, which opened in 2017 in St. Cloud’s Whitney Park. The city of St. Cloud partnered with the Y on the $24 million project, which was funded by a voter-approved referendum, a regional sales tax and donations from the community.
The project plans have always included a future water park to fill the gap left when St. Cloud’s municipal pool, which was south of Lake George, closed after a 2002 chlorine gas leak was deemed too costly to repair.
“Our community has been asking for this for a long time,” Gack said.
The water park will include features for all ages, including a pool, water slides and lazy river. Gack anticipates up to 1,300 people would visit each day. Admission will be part of Y membership and also accessible with Y day passes.
