SUMMARY: The park district officially became owner of the pool May 21. It plans to renovate the pool and reopen in 2015.
The Holmes County Park District received the Crissey Memorial Pool from Millersburg Village Wednesday May 21, the facility in good repair and ready for planned upgrades.
Now, it is up to the park district, and an anonymous donor, to get the pool up and running in time for the 2015 season.
The pool changed hands in a series of resolutions. Village council approved the sale of the pool for $1 May 12 to the county. The pool was purchased by the Holmes County Commissioners May 19, and they officially passed ownership of the pool to the park district.
The park district hopes to re-open the pool in 2015, bringing it back to the public for the first time since it closed in 2010.
Being closed for four years hasnt left the pool looking its best.
The water level stops about two feet short of the one foot deep markers on the north end. At the south end, about six feet of stagnant water sits below the diving boards. Weeds are growing up through cracks in the pavement.
But the wear and tear is only surface deep. Holmes County Park District director Jen Halverson said there is more there than meets the eye.
The shell is in great shape, Halverson said. They dont pour concrete like this anymore. We have a great foundation to work with.
The pool could open tomorrow, Halverson said. The pool was inspected and licensed by the Ohio Department of Health last year. The villages careful stewardship of the pool continued even while the pool was closed.
Prior to its closing, the pool operated at a loss with operations exceeding income anywhere from $24,000 to $60,000 per season. The village absorbed the cost, keeping the pool open as a service to village residents.
Budget cuts led the village to close the pool in 2010. After voters approved an income tax in 2012, council began plans to reopen the pool, possibly in 2014.
Even before the income tax passed, council continued to devote funds for repairs and upgrades in the years the pool was closed. It updated drains to be in compliance with the Virginia Graham Baker act. In 2011, floodwaters exerted upward pressure on the pool basin, causing it to crack. Repairs in 2011 totaled $20,520.
The village wont be getting that money back. Still, the money invested in the pool while it was closed was money well spent, Village Administrator Nate Troyer said. It kept the pool in operable condition until it could be opened again, even under a new owner.
We always had the intention of reopening the pool, Troyer said. Everything we did was toward that goal. It is definitely well worth the work we did to keep it up to code.
The pool comes at a time when new opportunities are opening for the park district on the the west end of Millersburg. The land that currently houses the Holmes County Fairgrounds are scheduled to be vacated in 2015 and left as green space under the park districts ownership.
The park district will further seek to connect Hipp Station with the fairgrounds and pool with a steel bridge crossing Killbuck Creek. The bridge will further allow traffic on the Holmes County Trail to cross the Killbuck and visit the pool/fairgrounds area.
A new, renovated pool will open in 2015 if all goes well, Halverson said. Plans are still in the works, but a basic outline has been established, Halverson said.
The pools depth will be reduced to six feet, with a zero entry point at the north side. The diving boards will have to be removed, Halverson said, as they no longer meet code (Troyer said code requirements have only allowed one diving board to used for years.)
Halverson said the plans are to make the pool attractive to all ages. The park district is looking at marked lanes for lap swimmers. A spray park is on the wish list; even if it cannot be installed right away, Halverson said, the infrastructure can be put in place during renovations.
Construction is scheduled to begin this summer.
Halverson said she is ready to get the pool back up and running and is looking forward to the day when it will complement the other things the park district has to offer.
I really hope it becomes part of a larger recreational hub, Halverson said. Well have the open green space where you can picnic and hold events, then you can stop by the pool for a swim. Its something maybe tourists could do on Sundays. Its exciting to think what the potential is.
KUTLINE:
Nick Sabo photo
Holmes County Park District director Jen Halverson stands at the edge of the Crissey Memorial Pool. The park district, as the pools new owner, has some exciting plans in store.
