The City of Dallas Center is getting closer to bringing a new pool to residents after a 10 year process.
Mayor Danny Beyer says they outlasted the 25 year life-span of their original outdoor pool which caused them to look at building a new pool. Beyer states that the aging pool was causing the city problems with rising maintenance costs and compliance issues. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that a committee was formed to look at if a new pool was feasible and quickly the community got on board with the idea.
“Public input has been kind of the key center in all of this and it really just came to the last couple of years with the availability of local option sales tax, as well as some other funding mechanisms coupled with a bond that was passed with 85% in support of building the new pool there really pushed everything over that finish line.”
He says the new pool will be equipped with a new lane which would make it qualified to hold competitions along with the installation of a diving board, the deep end will be larger and there will be new water features for toddlers. Beyer also describes another hallmark that will be in the new pool.
“The Bath Shelter House is receiving a huge upgrade again that was built in the 1980s and there were literal walls that were starting to crumble. And so we will have a fully roofed bath house for the first time in the pool’s existence. A little bit closer access to the trailhead. So hopefully we can attract some more visitors to town as well. But really, I would say that the biggest upgrade is the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act ) compliance, pool house.”
Beyer notes that they have applied for a Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) which would help them be able to add other components to the pool like multiple slides that they originally had to throw out because of their limited budget. He notes that the pool is projected to open in the spring of 2023 and the estimated cost will eventually be around $4.5 million.