Wapak sophomore Julian Jordon jumps off the high dive at the Wapakoneta Water Park on Friday evening.
Amanda Loughridge | The Lima News
LIMA — For the first time in over 80 years, the City will build a pool next to Lima Senior. The new project, known as the ‘Lima Community Aquatic Center’, will begin construction in 2023. The capital has been fully obtained at $8.9 million. The City of Lima will use $4 million from its general fund, the Lima City Schools have provided $2.4 million and the State has approved $2.4 million for this project.
Officials will now enter into a design contract with Brandstetter Carroll Inc. to begin plans for construction. The pool will be open throughout the year for public swim, swim teams, and schools.
“We had a couple of public meetings but the Mayor and everyone really pushed for the survey,” said Nancy Nozik, Division Principal of Brandstetter Carroll Inc. “Our company does this all over the place. If we get 200 responses we are thrilled but we had over 1,000 responses from the City of Lima residents. This shows people are really interested and we got some really good feedback. We did concepts at both the Schoonover pool and the Stadium but the City is intending to move forward at the Lima Stadium location.”
It will not only host the community but allow children from all over the city to learn how to swim.
“The schools are interested in putting a retractable roof on the pool so they can teach every third grader how to swim,” said Howard Elstro, District 13 Chairman. “We used to have 11 pools and now we have 4, all of which require a membership. Most of our youth do not have access to pools. Lima Senior, the Catholic Schools, Shawnee and Elida all agreed if they had this available in the winter they would enjoy the opportunity to teach them how to swim.”
The estimated operating cost is set at $650,000 per year. Officials are working now to obtain a budget for the next portion of the project.
The City of Lima, YMCA of Lima and Lima City Schools have made a memorandum of understanding that all three entities will play a role in the construction and maintenance of the new community pool.
The City of Lima has agreed to be responsible for taxes, assessments and the cost of utilities used by the Aquatic Center. The City will also assist ‘if needed’ for operational costs and maintenance up to $60,000 annually.
The Lima City Schools have agreed to provide $2.4 million for the retractable roof covering allowing the pool to be used year-round.
The YMCA has agreed to create an annual assessment of cost and maintenance for the pool. The costs will be presented annually by October for the following year. The YMCA will also serve as management for the pool and hold primary responsibility for staffing, scheduling and programming the needs of the facility for overall use.
Wapakoneta built a community pool 15 years ago. They have reportedly seen both the benefits and struggles of a community facility.
“Our waterpark had some great years and a couple of years of struggles,” said Jack Hayzlett, Wapak Pool Supervisor. “We saw about 600 people per day for the first 12 or 13 years. Last year we only had 9 lifeguards instead of our normal 25, so we were only able to open 3 days a week. We did recently partner with the YMCA and are fully staffed. It truly is a great service to our community, but most years we break even or have about $40,000 in profits. I think we should have saved more, now we will have to obtain funding for maintenance. Working here, I have developed a love for waterparks so I am looking forward to the Lima Aquatic Center too.”
The YMCA not only partners with the City of Wapakoneta but also with the Columbus Grove Municipal Pool. The YMCA staffs, trains and certifies those interested in becoming lifeguards and working for the pools.
“I have worked at Grove Pool now for 4 years; beginning as a lifeguard and now a building supervisor/manager,” said Kaydree Frey, Grove Pool Building Supervisor. “It is very rewarding. We have such a great community that comes and I love that the Lima community visits too. It has been a good summer so far, definitely very busy and chaotic at times. There are times when it can be overwhelming and stressful but it is so much fun working with friends, and the community that comes to the pool makes it a good atmosphere.”
“This is a rare opportunity,” said Ric Stolly of the Division of Parks and Recreation. “With the money that is available to us from federal funding, we can build a complex that is going to help kids in the community learn how to swim, add to our pool inventory and invite the entire community to participate. The quality of life will go up.”
Members of the community and local officials are looking forward to the new addition to the city of Lima.
For more information or details on the new Lima Aquatic Center visit cityhall.lima.oh.us or email Kirk Niemeyer at [email protected].
