Community pool getting upgrade, new slides
BEREA — Demolition of the concrete deck at the community pool began on schedule this week, all part of a complete overhaul of the popular amenity that will include a new pool PVC liner, two new slides, and a new concrete deck.
“We’re also getting some repairs, and replacements to the plumbing and gutters,” Parks Department Director Priscilla Bloom told The Edge.
The pool is now 30 years old — most pools last about 25 years, according to the general consensus in the pool industry. The slides are 20 years old, also pushing their expiry. “They definitely need an upgrade,” Bloom said. There have not been safety issues, however, Bloom confirmed.
The nearly 2.3 million dollar project was made possible in part by funds Berea received as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed into law by President Biden to help restore the economy post-covid shutdown.
“I am so excited about this project,” City Administrator Rose Beverly said in an interview. “Priscilla has been fighting for it for a long time, and when we got the ARPA funds, I thought it was important to invest in a physical project like the pool so that when people ask what we did with the money, we have something you can see and touch.”
Beverly said she presented City Council with her argument for why investing in the pool would offer a high yield return. “The pool is such an important asset to this town, judging by how we have to turn people away many days,” Beverly told The Edge.
Because of the pool’s popularity with out-of-towners, $250,000 of Berea tourism dollars were added to the pot for the pool’s repairs.
“The pool brings people to this town from all over the area,” Beverly said.
Bloom acknowledged that a new concrete deck might not sound as fun as other pool features.
“People’ll come in and see new slides and get excited, but the money has to go to things that really need being done,” Bloom said. “It’s not the sexy thing to do, but we have to do it.”
Bloom said the pool should be open in time for summer.
“That is the plan,” she said. “We can’t control the weather, and sometimes in construction there are hold ups, but we’re pretty confident we’ll be able to open on our normal Memorial Day weekend schedule.”