06/13/2023
Oak Ridger
Open house tonight on Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool renovations
Residents opinions will be considered in forming three conceptual designs for pool
Tonight’s the night for Oak Ridge residents to hear about initial plans for renovation of the historic Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool, and let their own ideas be known.
Children learn how to snorkel at the Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on June 7. An open house on renovating the pool is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will have its first public open house for the Outdoor Pool Renovation Project at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Scarboro Community Center, 148 Carver Ave.
The open house is a chance for the Nashville-based consulting company working on the project, Kimley-Horn and Associates, and city staff to hear public input on how to renovate the city pool. According to a city news release, a brief presentation will be followed by an interactive open house. Light refreshments will be provided.
$5M set aside for pool renovations, but cost unknown
The Oak Ridge City Council in May approved a resolution selecting the company to provide professional consulting services for the planning and design of the pool renovations for $55,200. Although the actual cost of the renovations cannot yet be estimated, Jon Hetrick, city Recreation and Parks Department director, told the council that $5 million has been set aside as a “placeholder” in the city’s Capital Improvements Program. The $5 million includes the $55,200 design cost, he said.
The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
The company is charged with coming up with three conceptual designs for the pool.
In a letter to Hetrick, Kimley-Horn and Associates said the spring-fed city pool opened in 1944 and “now needs improvements made that are sensitive to its history while also considering repair costs and evolving aquatic trends.”
Jon Hetrick
“Originally constructed in 1944 by the Corps of Engineers, the pool underwent major renovation in 1992-1993. Reopened in summer of 1994, the pool is spring water fed and considered one of the largest in the nation. Depths range from zero to 13-1/2 feet,” states the description of the pool on the website for Explore Oak Ridge, the city’s tourism entity.
