Save Ad Astra Pool Coalition

The Kansas state motto is "Ad Astra Per Aspera" - to the stars through difficulties. Right now, our neighborhood is facing difficulty as a result of the decision by the Lenexa City Council to close Ad Astra Pool - a pool that has been at the heart of our neighborhoods for 30 years.

Please review this site on how YOU can take action to save Ad Astra Pool, a vital part of our community for three decades. Through your help, we will prevail. Thank you for visiting!

Lenexa Primary Candidate Answers on Ad Astra

Recently, we asked the candidates running for the City Council who have primaries their stances on Ad Astra Pool. Click here for the answers we received.

Save Ad Astra Pool Coalition Thanks Lenexa City Council for Rejecting Recommendation to Close Ad Astra Pool

On Tuesday night, the Lenexa City Council rejected the recommendation to close Ad Astra Pool and voted proceed with further discussions about an aquatic facility at the site. In addition, the Lenexa City Council did accept the recommendation to develop a modernized community-wide aquatics center with the appropriate mix of amenities at Indian Trails.

Click Here for the full statement.

Statement: Lenexa City Council Should Reject Recommendation to Close Ad Astra Pool

Lenexa, KS - The Save Ad Astra Pool Coalition, an organization of Lenexa residents devoted to preserving and improving Ad Astra Pool, issued a statement asking the Lenexa City Council to reject the recommendation by Waters Edge to close Ad Astra Pool.

Click Here for the full statement.

Important 6-10-21 Update - Now is the time to Act!

Last night, the City Council held a meeting to hear the results of the Aquatics Study. As we previously mentioned, the recommendation is to close Ad Astra Pool. Not only that, but there seems to be an agenda to move away from neighborhood-style community pools entirely, as eventually Flat Rock will close too "after it's useful life" if the council moves forward with the recommendation.

Unfortunately, the majority of the City Council - at present - seems to be leaning strongly towards accepting the recommendations. Several comments were made about so-called "tough decisions" and the importance of reducing "water surface" in Lenexa to match what other cities are doing.

To Save Ad Astra, we now need your help! Here’s what you can do:

Show up at the June 15th City Council meeting and speak!
Please e-mail the City Council - you can view the contact information here.
Please VOTE in the upcoming City Elections this August and November - Wards 3 and 4 have active races - and ask where the candidates stand.

This is why LOCAL GOVERNMENT is so important! While it often lurks in the shadows of federal and state elections, this shows the impact local government can have on our daily lives and our neighborhoods! It's very important they hear your voice so they understand the decision to remove a community pool for the "benefit of all residents" is not desired by the residents.

Below are some points to consider in making your case to the City Council. When talking with council members, we encourage you not to rely upon emotional or nostalgic arguments - as they won't be persuasive. Instead, come with facts and figures, such as:

Lenexa built all three community pools when the population of Lenexa was 3/5 of what it is today. We have not built a new outdoor traditional pool for over 30 years!
The neighborhoods without an HOA pool will be severely hurt by the closure of Ad Astra and eventually Flat Rock.
What has made Lenexa special over our history has been our neighborhoods - and the majority of our city is still older neighborhoods that are served by these pools.
To that end, we do not need to match what other cities are doing. The beauty of the almost 20 cities in Johnson County is that every city is different, and what makes Lenexa special is our commitment to community! That very commitment is undermined if we start closing facilities that are important to our community.
We have never asked for large-scale water parks. While they serve a purpose, our kids, our families, they also want a pool they can walk to, that is nearby, and isn't always overwhelmed with large crowds.
The vast majority of the 30 pages of public comments in the public interest survey were in favor of KEEPING Ad Astra Pool. City leaders are called upon to represent their constituents, not simply adhere to studies performed by those who don't have the long-term vested interest in our city, and who specialize in water parks - not community pools.
Over the course of the last 15 years, the city has invested quite a bit of time and money into large-scale amenities - such as Lenexa Rec Center - some of which increased "water surface" in Lenexa that is now decried. If we are going to invest such significant resources in new amenities, we should also invest resources into maintaining existing amenities that mean a tremendous amount to those living near them. We should be able to do both.

Specifically, regarding the benefits of keeping Ad Astra:

Ad Astra is within walking distance of many neighborhoods, as well as the many new folks living at Lenexa City Center who deserve a nearby "outdoor" pool option.
Ad Astra is great for swim teams and has a high utilization rate from such teams. Ad Astra is also great for lap swimming and should be marketed as such - many may not realize it exists.
The study cited Ad Astra attendance figures from 2015-2018 as justification for the recommendation. This is tremendously unfair as it represents a period of time in which key amenities were being removed and the condition of the pool had deteriorated. The figures also do NOT include swim team usage, which we estimate results in at 3600 visits each year. Thus, we disagree with using these figures as they completely misrepresent the interest in the pool.
To this very point, we do believe Ad Astra needs improvement to make it more attractive, such as a new entrance area, and common amenities to attract families and kids, such as a water slide, bringing back the high diving board and baby pool.
Properly marketed, we believe Ad Astra would have fantastic attendance that would justify retaining it for the long term – not only from Lenexans, but from our friends in neighboring cities who may want a true community pool that is larger than their HOA pool but not a large water park.
We recommend an alternative action of renovating Indian Trails and then, after it is complete, renovating Ad Astra in a way that maintains its swim team/lap swimming usage but also includes upgraded amenities and maintenance to make it attractive to a wider array of people throughout our area.

You may have other, more personal reasons for keeping Ad Astra Pool! we encourage you to contact the Mayor and council members TODAY and let them know you feel, and again, show up on June 15th!

June 5, 2021 Update

The new recommendations from the draft report from the consultants conducting the City of Lenexa's Aquatic Study put us in essentially the same place we were two years ago - a recommendation to CLOSE Ad Astra Pool. Here is the relevant part:

Based on key indicators from the public, the City of Lenexa and aquatic industry trends, Phase 2 resulted in three recommendations. The first recommendation includes a major renovation of Indian Trails pool.

The second recommendation is as follows:

"Reduce the overall amount of water surface offered throughout the outdoor pools. Close Ad Astra Pool (after renovating Indian Trails) and repurpose it as another recreational amenity. Maintain operation of Flat Rock Creek Pool for the duration of its useful life." The draft report is available for view and it can be accessed through the city's website. While this page includes both the info from Phase I and Phase II, Phase II will be the focus of discussion at next week’s Committee of the Whole Discussion, where Water’s Edge Aquatic Design will present their report.

Here is a quick link to the webpage with the draft report.

It's VERY important to understand that this is just a recommendation from the consultants, and the City Council can accept, reject, or modify the recommendations.

Therefore, it's time for your voice to be heard! Now that we know this is the recommendation, it's time to be active and make it clear how important all of our traditional community pools are to our city and specifically to our neighborhoods. Ad Astra Pool is a very important part of of the fabric of central Lenexa and it should be renovated and improved, not closed.

For those reasons, we encourage you to show up at next week's Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, June 8th at 7:00 p.m. It is open to the public. *Please note there will be no public comment at this meeting!* In the meantime, you are also encouraged to contact your Lenexa City Council member: https://www.lenexa.com/government/lenexa_city_council

We will post important updates in the days ahead on how you can save Ad Astra Pool.

Short Term Steps You Can Take

Many are asking what steps they can take to help us save Ad Astra Pool. Here are a few things we would encourage:

Contact the Council - If you haven't already, send a note to the City Council (your own councilperson or all, if you prefer) letting them know your thoughts on why Ad Astra should be kept open and why Ad Astra Pool is an important part of the future of Lenexa. Visit our Contact the Council page for their e-mail addresses and access to a Ward Map.

Receive Updates from the City - We encourage you to sign up for the city's updates directly! You can do so by clicking here and then following directions on the city's website. You can receive updates regarding various aspects of city business.

Attend a Council Meeting - We are closely following the city's plans on this issue and will be posting updates as we know them. In the meantime, we encourage people to attend Lenexa's City Council meetings, which are generally held every other Tuesday. Council meetings start at 7:00 p.m. For more information, click here.

Of course, we will keep people updated - both on this website and on our Facebook page. Thank you!

Local News Outlets Cover Our Petition

After news of the vote by the Lenexa City Council to close Ad Astra Pool became public, the reaction by members of our coalition to the decision was picked up by several local news outlets. We are thankful to those outlets who are covering our effort and continue to!

You can see these news articles by visiting our In the News page or by following us on Facebook! If you are a member of the media and would like to contact us, please do so at saveadastrapool@hotmail.com. Thank you!