Three local boards approve bid for schematic design phase of natatorium, wellness center
Published 9:34 am Friday, April 3, 2026
Another step was taken Thursday in the journey to build an indoor pool in Frankfort.
The Franklin County Fiscal Court, Frankfort Board of Commissioners, and the Franklin County Schools Board of Education met in special-called meetings at the Franklin County Health Department, with one item on each group’s agenda — awarding a bid regarding the natatorium and wellness center for the schematic design phase.
All three groups voted unanimously to award the bid to Schmidt Associates, based in Louisville.
“Collaboration is one of the most important things that we can do in society,” FCS Superintendent Mark Kopp said. “When you collaborate and you work together, you can get things done. The fact that these three entities, these three boards, are collaborating, working together to try to better the community, we’re all super excited about that.”
The bid was for $50,000 and will be paid by the Franklin County Sports Tourism Commission.
Frankfort has been without an indoor pool since October 2021, when Kentucky State University closed its Exum Center pool because of needed repairs. It remains closed.
Prior to that, the YMCA, after closing its pool, had an agreement with KSU that made the Exum Center pool available to those with YMCA memberships.
When the three entities passed an interlocal agreement about a natatorium and wellness center in September, questions were raised about the size of the plot and if it would be large enough for a natatorium and wellness center.
Seven bids were received, and all seven companies fit the project on the plot of land, which is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard behind the Human Resources Building.
A committee was created from the interlocal agreement that the three entities passed in September. The committee issued an RFP (request for proposal) and received seven proposals. It interviewed all seven firms and unanimously recommended Schmidt to the three boards, which is what the boards voted on Thursday.
The committee consisted of Kopp and FCS board member Jennifer Kantner, Mayor Layne Wilkerson, and Finance Director Amber Moreland with the city, Judge-Executive Michael Mueller and Deputy Judge-Executive Jack Kennedy with the fiscal court, Visit Frankfort Executive Director Randy Newcomb, Scotty Tracy with the Franklin County Sports Tourism Commission, and citizen member, Dan Liebman.
With no indoor pool, high school swim teams in Frankfort have to travel out of town for practice.
“This is another step in the right direction for the community and for our kids in Franklin County Schools, if I can be selfish for a second,” Kopp said. “Our kids in Franklin County Schools deserve this, and we need to do everything we can, exhaust every possible way, to make this happen.”
The schematic design is the initial, conceptual phase of an architectural or engineering project where preliminary ideas, rough sketches, and space layouts are developed.
“We wanted a location that was centralized,” Mueller said. “It’s on the transit line, kids can walk there. It’s right in between east and west; it’s a good scenario.
“This is probably a six- to eight-month project,” he added about the schematic design phase. “Once they give us some deliverables, we’re going to start to raise money, and after six to eight months, we’ll kind of know where we’re headed.”
It was mentioned during Thursday’s meeting that if needed, the project could be done in phases.
“We’re excited to take this next step for the community,” Wilkerson said. “I can’t wait to see the designs and look forward to working with the county and the county schools to see this through to the end.”
