As summer approaches and temperatures climb to the 85 degree mark, construction on the Sedona Community Pool continues.
Pinnacle One project manager Dave Young said the project is right on schedule for its completion date in mid-May.
“We’re not over budget at all,” Young was happy to report. “And we should be done by the middle of May like we planned.”
The total bill of the project for the Sedona-Oak Creek School District is around $593,000, while the city of Sedona coughed up $100,000 for a total project cost of $693,000.
Normally, construction jobs go a little longer than planned; just ask Sedona residents about the reconstruction of State Route 179 that took nearly five years.
The Sedona Community Pool, however, should not take more than another month of construction to be complete, according to Young.
Construction crews broke ground in January to make Sedona’s only public pool much bigger, and to update a few things along the way.
The new pool will be 62 feet wide by 75 feet long [25 yards] and will be big enough for eight competition lanes, which is good for the local state champion Sedona Red Rock High School swim team.
“They didn’t have a home pool. They were using Cottonwood, or traveling a lot. They might have practiced here, but they couldn’t hold meets here. Now they can,” Young said.
Construction crews began by completely tearing out the old pool and laying the foundation for the new one, filling in some holes for the shallow parts, and digging for the deeper parts.
The community pool will be seven feet at its deepest, and four feet at the shallow end. The new pool will hold a whopping 177,000 gallons of water.
The deck will also be bigger, allowing for the Scorpions to host large swim meets and have a place to put all the swimmers, coaches and their fans.
Young also reported construction crews are updating the locker rooms, putting down new floor coating and placing heat and air conditioning in the main office.
A new cover is also being purchased to cover a pool heated by 75 percent gas and 25 percent solar.
Sadly, there is nothing unique for kids. Water guns, fountains, diving boards and slides will not be installed.
Recreation and aquatics supervisor Rachel Murdoch said the Sedona Parks and Recreation Department will offer three tours for the public for anyone interested to see all the new improvements.
The Sedona Parks and Recreation Department operates the Sedona Community Pool, which is owned by the city.
Dates for the tours are tentatively scheduled for Monday, May 16, Wednesday, May 18, and Friday, May 20.
“We will still have all the great programs we had before and will accommodate the high school and the Sedona Swordfish swim team. There are some great additions to the pool,” Murdoch said.
Both Young and Murdoch reported the pool should be open for the summer by Saturday, May 28. Schools release students from school Friday, May 27.
