The city of Warrenton will examine the possibility of building a skate park at its shuttered outdoor pool on Morgan Street, according to a newly approved city budget.

Warrenton’s 2020-2021 budget, approved by the board of aldermen June 16, includes $15,000 for an assessment of whether the shell of the pool can be used as a viable foundation for a skate park.

The Morgan Park pool facility has gone unused since closing at the end of the summer 2018 season. It was retired in favor of the newly constructed Aquatic Center on Warrior Avenue. The pool at Morgan Park was built almost 30 years ago.

“We’re trying to make a decision about what to do with the old pool,” commented Ward 2 Alderman Gary Auch. He said a skate park has been a recurring request from residents, and that repurposing the existing pool infrastructure could be a practical alternative to demolishing the facility.

City officials stressed that the project isn’t a guarantee, and that the assessment might determine the old pool to be unsuitable for such a conversion. The money allocated for the viability assessment won’t cover any initial engineering.

Approved along with initial funding for that project was $25,000 for an assessment of new locations to replace Warrenton’s tennis courts. The current courts, which are located next to the old pool, have frequent problems with water infiltration.

“They are located on top of a natural spring, which makes it impossible to keep the surfaces adequately maintained,” said Director of Operations Brandie Walters. “Determination of a new location, without the underlying issues, would provide the ability to install new courts and keep them adequately maintained.”

Walters said the city hasn’t yet engaged companies for either of the assessment projects.

City Administrator Terri Thorn said assessments of the skate park and tennis court projects were both supposed to have been initiated in the first half of this year, but were delayed.

“Had COVID not hit, we would have already had the company come in and look at the old pool complex to determine if it’s viable for a skate park,” Thorn said. “We also would have had engineering look at other, alternative locations for possible tennis courts. COVID hit, and those projects got delayed. But they are in this new budget, and we will get those moving forward.”

Preliminary studies of using the pool as a skate park and moving the tennis courts to a new location, budgeted to cost $40,000 total, will both be paid for using a dedicated capital projects sales tax for city facility improvements.