Greenwood residents will be able to splash in the municipal pool again this summer following a complete overhaul of the beloved facility.
Brooke McCourt, the city’s corporate officer, said they are working with two contractors — one local and the other from Revelstoke — on installing a new liner and plumbing to address major leaks that the pool suffered from in previous years. The water loss resulted in chemical imbalances that forced the pool’s closure last year.
Also part of the project is a new building that will include change rooms, washrooms, a concession stand, and first aid room
“We’re really excited to upgrade our municipal pool as it brings locals in from Osoyoos all the way to Castlegar sometimes,” McCourt said. “It is a great facility and it keeps our community alive in the summer.”
McCourt said they are hoping to have the outdoor pool open by the end of May or early June, depending on the weather. She said they are working with their aquatic supervisor to schedule programming for the summer.
The pool, at 213 South Government Avenue, has been around since at least 1956. McCourt said it was a tough call for city council whether to refurbish the facility.
“There were some underlying issues and concerns that our mayor and council had with the overall budget costs,” she said. “As such a small municipality, we don’t have a huge capacity.”
She said if they didn’t do the project now, the fear was that they probably never would and the community would lose the pool altogether.
“So it was a tough decision, but as a small community, we don’t have a lot of facilities and recreation options for young families,” she said.
The pool reno is expected to cost a little under $400,000 while the building will be just shy of $200,000. McCourt said city staff worked to find contractors who were willing to tackle the pool as a restoration rather than a total rebuild to save costs.
She said the city had a few pockets of money on hand that had to be spent by a certain deadline otherwise they would be forfeited. That was topped up with funding from other areas of the budget. Although they looked into grants, McCourt said there isn’t much available for pools, “which made it a little trickier for sure.”
As of this week, the pool has been stripped to its shell, the old change rooms have been demolished, and the walls of its replacement are slowly coming up. Concrete has been poured for stairs that will descend into the pool, replacing the ladder that was previously used.
