Everybody in the Pool !!

Lamar Pool, Ready for 2017

You just have to wait a few more days before you can take the plunge. The Lamar Municipal Swimming Pool will open for the season on Thursday, May 25^th this year, according to pool manager, Carrie Smith.  “We’re just about all set to go.  The boiler repairs finished Thursday and it’s working fine.  We went from 60 degrees on Wednesday to about 78 degrees a day later,” she explained.  The pool will see some limited use on Saturday as Red Cross training will be held.  The pool will also play host to the Lamar Rotary’s annual Ducky Dash fundraiser on Saturday, May 20^th, during Lamar Days activities.  However, that event is designed so nobody, except a couple of thousand rubber duckies, will be getting wet.

There are two new features to the pool this year, one more noticeable than the other. The child’s wading pool at the southeast corner has been eliminated and filled in with concrete and the other is a new liner for the pool.  “We think that we’ll be able to save in seasonal maintenance with this new one,” explained Smith.

Earlier in the year, the Lamar City Council was looking at a hefty price tag for liner repairs, but came upon a Kansas firm, RenoSys Corporation, which would install a PVC membrane for the entire pool for $101,000.  That would be a savings from the $350,000 estimate that the firm that had been doing business with the city council had provided.  Rick Akers, Lamar Parks and Recreation Director, told the council that the lower price, which came with a solid recommendation from other users, would allow the pool to be repaired several times based on the estimated savings.

By Russ Baldwin