After a discussion on the possibility of closing the Lewis Park Pool and the Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center in Sioux City, both facilities will remain open in the next fiscal year.
Amid a nearly six hours budget meeting in which cuts to the Sioux City Public Library were also discussed, Sioux City Council members decided to leave Lewis Pool open and to look into more funding for the welcome center, which is just off Interstate 29 in Christ Larsen Park.
“I don’t think there is an appetite to close Lewis Pool,” Councilman Craig Berenstein said.
Mayor Bob Scott cautioned that closing a pool will create controversy, such as when a Leeds neighborhood pool was closed two decades ago. THe city has been transitioning to creating splash pads instead of more expensive swimming pools.
Museum Director Steve Hansen said the river museum draws 20,000 people annually. Councilman Rick Bertrand opined that some museum portions could be switched to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center that is about 150 yards away.
Mayor Bob Scott said the welcome center in the city should be maintained, since the one near Sergeant Bluff south of the city may be pared away.
Additionally, the budget session saw increasing the amount set aside for a Sioux City Police Department armored vehicle to $405,000.
Mayor Scott said since Woodbury County also has an armored vehicle, “there are people in our community who believe we don’t need this.”
Police Chief Rex Mueller said, “we wish this isn’t an asset the city needs…One of them is not enough.”
After the meeting Wednesday, a next substantial piece in finalizing the city budget will come in a public hearing on Monday, March 30.
All Iowa cities, counties and school districts in Iowa must set their 2026-27 budgets by April, for spending that begins on July 1.
