Pool opening weeks away

In a typical year, the McCook swimming pool would see its first swimmers this weekend, Memorial Day weekend. But this is not the typical year and the pool will not be ready for swimmers by this Saturday, Sunday or Monday -- not for at least a couple of more weeks.

While improvements to the swimming pool are complete, the bathhouse is nearly non-existent -- obvious to anyone who has driven by the construction site on East M Street.

The bathhouse renovation will include maintaining the original south wall of the bathhouse, constructed in 1937 as a work project during the Great Depression. To make this accommodation, the building will expand north toward the pool, essentially doubling the size of the bathhouse. To make up for this decrease in decking space on the south, more cement decking will be added to the west of the mid-sized pool.

Other changes include the addition of a roof to the 66-year-old building and handicapped-accessible showers and halls. "It's going to be nice to have a roof and it's going to be nice and clean," Conroy said. "We won't be dealing with Mother Nature inside the bathhouse."

Work on the pool and most of the accessories are already complete. The entire pool has been repainted and the cracks filled. All the ladders, diving boards and any metal pieces were sandblasted by city crews and then galvanized by Valmont at no charge, Conroy said.

As part of the pool improvements, all of the cement decking surrounding the pool was removed last year and the plumbing replaced. "There shouldn't be a leak anywhere," Conroy said. Since pool staff will not be replacing two to three inches of leaking water each night, Conroy hopes the pool will maintain a warmer temperature this year.

And a chairlift into and out of the pool, similar to one in use at the McCook YMCA, has been installed in the southeast comer of the main pool.

Improvements to the pool and the bathhouse have been years in the making and were originally not meant to interfere with the summer swimming season. But while waiting for word about a pending grant, the city of McCook fell behind in the bid letting and construction schedule.

The city was waiting for a grant from the Games and Park Commission, with the announcement scheduled in April. In the end, the grant never came and the project was delayed.

Conroy said that by not receiving the grant money, the city fell back upon funding the entire project with sales tax dollars, which is how the project was originally budgeted and planned. In the end, the pool project will cost $123,000 and the bathhouse renovation another $208,800.

Once the city realized it was not receiving any grant funds, staff went ahead with bid letting and judged the bids not only on cost but also the completion schedule.

Hixson Construction came through with both the lowest bid and the earliest completion date: June 26. Conroy said he's hoping and planning on the date moving up. "With good weather, we may not need all that time."

Summer swimmers are not without options for the first month of the swim season.

Although the YMCA will be closed this weekend and Monday, the YMCA is extending its recreational swim hours throughout June.

According to Executive Director Mike Gonzales, rec swims will be as follows:

- Monday and Wednesday, 1:45 to 5:30 p.m.

- Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 1:45 to 4 p.m.

- Monday through Thursday evenings, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

In July, the YMCA plans to return to its regular summer schedule.

The Culbertson pool, along with the baby pool, was filled last week and, weather permitting, should be open this weekend. Just call ahead.

The opening of the Indianola pool, which has a capacity of 105 and usually draw 70 swimmers, is up in the air.

Pool manager Brenda Duckworth said she would like to have the pool open by Memorial Day on Monday, but a new heater was scheduled to be installed this week.

"The previous heater was just getting old," she said, and the pool hasn't been filled yet.

Once the new heater is installed, staff will fill the pool, let it clear up and let the water get warm, Duckworth said. "We'll just be playing (the opening) by ear."