Jaycee Park Pool will not reopen ... Maybe forever
Clinton residents may have seen the last of the Jaycee Park Pool.
Clinton City Manager Roger Houck told City Council Monday, April 27, that after the pool closed on Labor Day 2019, regular maintenance found two leaks.
Houck said a leak in the plumbing, last repaired in 1985, and in the lining, last repaired in 2002, resulted in a loss of about 10,000 gallons of water a day.
Houck said usually when there is a leak, it’s either in the plumbing or the lining, not both.
He said the city started noticing the water loss about halfway through the summer of 2019.
He said the city can apply for a grant to cover the estimated $342,875 repair bill for the facility.
But in 2019, Jaycee Park Pool averaged just 60 swimmers a day.
Houck said that 15 years ago, the pool averaged 250 people a day, and 20 years ago it averaged as many as 400 each day.
He said it costs a little under $27,000 to keep the pool open in the summer, but it only takes in about $11,000.
“It’s always been a losing (financially) facility,” he said.
The pool will remain closed during the coming summer because of repairs and the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Houck suggested the city look at replacing the pool with a splash pad, but noted the grant will be applied for.
No action was taken concerning the Jaycee Park Pool, but in the coming months City Council will look at all the options.
Another item concerning city recreation facilities came up during the meeting.
Houck said he approached the Anderson County School System about the next phase of renovations on the Clinton City Football Field.
The city splits the cost of renovations on athletic facilities used by the school system 50-50.
The next phase of the renovations would have including refurbishing the dressing rooms, reworking the concessions area, and installing new metal bleachers on the visitors’ side.
Houck said the Anderson County Board of Education voted not to partner in the project.
As of now, he said, the next phase has been put on hold.