Macon pool to get major improvements by next summer
Macon County is poised to begin major renovations to its pool at Veterans Memorial Recreation Park, including extensive upgrades to the locker rooms and the addition of water play features in the kiddy pool.
The $600,000 project will consist of three parts — revamping the pool itself, renovating the pool house and installing a new floor area around the pool.
In total, about 25 changes and improvements will be made to the grounds, said Macon County Manager Jack Horton.
“Its time has come,” Horton said of the pool, originally built in the 1970s. “It needs a complete renovation.”
Most of the pool work will be concentrated on the children’s pool. Several fun water features, such as a mushroom that sprays water, spurting fountains and dumping buckets, will be installed. Also the kiddy pool will be separated from the main pool. That will allow the larger pool to remain open even if a small child has a bathroom accident in the kiddy pool.
Construction on the pool house will be the first of the three phases. The pool house renovation got the green light for construction last Monday. The other phases will soon follow with the goal of having the entire facility upgraded at the start of next outdoor pool season.
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According to the architect working on the pool house renovation, the building is showing its age.
“It’s 40 years old, and nothing has been done with it,” said Franklin architect Thomas Ritter of the locker rooms. “It’s an embarrassment.”
Ritter said the improved pool house will include locker rooms, private stalls for changing and accommodations for users with disabilities. The new plans will also improve pool access by not forcing users to walk through the locker rooms to the pool deck.
By late February, those renovations should be complete. Kopp Construction, a company in Franklin, will complete the pool house work for $207,500.
Augusta Aquatics, a company out of Georgia, will do the actual pool renovations for the low bid price of $338,500. Work on the main pool will upgrade the water pumps, jets and filtration system. One end of the lap lanes will be deepened to allow for easier turns during competitive swimming events.
Replacing the floor area around the pool will cost an additional $90,000.
