04/24/2022
Oak Ridger

A city board has approved a long-range plan which includes spending on the indoor and outdoor pool.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved the Capital Improvements Program, a long-range plan for various city spending projects. It lists $90,000 for indoor pool resurfacing and code compliance and $5 million for outdoor pool renovation. It listed both as “maintenance programs.” The indoor pool work is listed to take place in fiscal year 2023, while the outdoor pool project spending is spread out between fiscal years 2023 and 2025.

The projected numbers in the plan approved by Planning Commission for the outdoor pool are $250,000 in fiscal year 2023 and then another $250,000 in 2024 and, finally, $4.5 million in 2025. Jon Hetrick, city of Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department director, has said the first two $250,000 amounts relate to the pool’s design, and city manager Mark Watson said they may also cover studies. The last amount, the $4.5 million, Hetrick has said, is an amount for the actual construction of the pool, although he said this was a guess, not necessarily the amount the new pool will cost.

Jon Hetrick
City of Oak Ridge Aquatics Manager Vonda Wooten spoke about the indoor pool to Planning Commission at an earlier meeting.

“If you haven’t been in it lately, it is crumbling,” she told the commission. She said the broken tiles had caused injuries.

“Water wise, we’ll save money in the long run and safety wise as well,” she said.

In contrast, she said, the outdoor pool, which has drawn far more attention recently was “not a significant safety issue” even though it is “significantly losing a lot of water.” She said this includes four to six inches of water leaking out during a day.

Hetrick talked about the future of the Oak Ridge Pool and has talked about replacing it with another pool on the same site. He said the city of Oak Ridge had to look at what the public wants in a future pool before going forward, whether that means building a similar pool that’s there now or building something different.

City Manager Mark Watson told The Oak Ridger later that due to geological “shifting” below the pool, it might be possible to just make renovations to “salvage” the outdoor pool without completely rebuilding, but that those renovations would probably have to be extensive. He said studies were still ongoing as to what the best option would be.

Hetrick said that the outdoor pool will likely lose a season while being reconstructed, which makes preparing the indoor pool before that time more important.

The shell of the outdoor swimming pool is reportedly deteriorating. The Capital Improvements Program (CIP) is a set of long-term capital projects — specific projects rather than ongoing expenses. Planning Commission will next send the CIP to City Council, which will have the final approval.