Contractors started work July 11, and the town is advertising for lifeguards.
New South Construction broke ground and poured footings last week on a building that will house a new, larger pump and filter system. Pools Etc. is working on the water line hookups and installing the pump and filter system that is needed for the pool to meet current state health standards.
“The blocks were delivered to the site earlier this week,” said New South President Jeff Masar on Friday.
On Monday, workers began laying the blocks for the enclosure.
When the new pump and filter system is installed, the pool water will be recycled once every six hours. The old equipment recycled the water once every 10 or 11 hours. That was not fast enough to meet current health codes.
The town had to install a new system to obtain a health permit that is required before the pool can reopen, according to county Health Department officials.
An underwater pressure relief valve will also be installed, which will be required by state safety codes next year, according to David White, the town director of building and grounds and parks and recreation.
Meanwhile, the town buildings and grounds department has left the lawn irrigation sprinklers running longer than normal at the Pool Park in West Southern Pines in case children want to play in the water until the pool is reopened. White said he had not seen any children playing in the sprinklers at the Pool Park.
“A lot of kids play in the sprinklers at the Morganton Road Sports Complex,” White said Monday.
The pool must have a new, fully enclosed shed for its pump and filter system, which is another requirement to meet state health and safety codes.
There is no water in the pool, which was built 40 years ago. In recent years, the condition of the pool has deteriorated.
Usage has also been declining, which led to the Town Council deciding in May not to open it this year.
West Southern Pines residents and community leaders urged the council to reconsider the decision. They circulated petitions asking the town to keep the pool open.
The council agreed to see if the work could be done in time to get the pool open for what is left of swimming weather this summer.
The town contracted with New South for $21,250. The work is to be finished in 30 to 45 days from the start date, said Town Manager Reagan Parsons.
“It’s on the fast track,” he said in a brief telephone interview.
The council expedited its approval of a required architectural plan for the pump and filter system enclosure by having a special meeting. On Monday, July 11, “we picked up the building permit,” Masar said.
“Pools Etc. has some underground piping and sleeve work to get under way, soon,” he said. “We told the town between four and six weeks and depending on weather, it shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll probably have the building done by then, hopefully before school opens.”
White said Friday that a contract for Pools Etc. hasn’t been finalized as far as the exact costs, and the completion date is still open. Based on earlier estimates, that part of the job would cost about $12,000.
The Town Council is expected to discuss an aquatic master plan for future recreation needs at its July 25 work session, White said.
Although the repairs being made to the pool will allow it to meet current and new state codes, White said, the future of the pool and its location will be part of the aquatic study.
The town owns additional land where the Pool Park is located at 702 Henley St. Another piece of land nearby could be used for a new pool or some other recreation activity, depending on community needs and feasibility, according to White.
But the town’s first and only public swimming pool holds a special place in the hearts of many in the West Southern Pines neighborhoods. The town’s first black mayor, the late Emanuel Douglass, was instrumental in getting the town to build it.
Admissions of $1 per person were to be charged this summer to swim in the pool.
The town formed a liaison committee with residents of West Southern Pines to keep people informed on the progress of work to reopen the pool.
Parsons said he is relaying progress on the work regularly to the community.
White said one or two responses had come to the parks and recreation office from classified advertisements in The Pilot for certified lifeguards.
“We can’t give anyone a report date for the lifeguard positions until we know the date the work will be completed,” White said.
For the fairly short time the pool would be open this summer, the town might have to tap someone already on staff to be the pool manager — someone who can mix chemicals and oversee the pool operations — unless it can hire a lifeguard who is certified to mix the chemicals, he said.
