Watering holes

There’s a sense of urgency around the old cement pond these days.

It’s one of those unwritten rules: You don’t wear white and you don’t swim in a municipal pool after Labor Day.

The end of another summer swim season is here. The Terrace View pool closes after the swim session on Labor Day. Park Road and Valley Mission Park pools already have closed for the season.

But during the long, hot days of summer, the three Spokane Valley pools are happening places – from swim team workouts that start at 7:30 in the morning to the closing time at 8 p.m.

In all, more than 40,000 swimmers enjoyed the three area pools. Each pool employs about a dozen young people as lifeguards each summer, in addition to their four full-time staffers.

“I don’t have the final numbers yet for this year because we still have one pool left open, but those numbers are about the same as last year,” Parks and Recreation director Mike Jackson said. “Those numbers are for the general admission tickets, at $1 per ticket, the kids under 5 swimming with adults, swim lessons and swim team visits.”

During the off season, there will be activitiy at all three pools. Each will get a major facelift before June 14, 2008, when they again open for business.

“We have $1.6 million dollars for the project,” Jackson said. “We’re still finalizing our plans, making sure that they’re feasible with the existing site. We should be able to finalize that in the next 30 days or so and we can put that out to bid. We don’t have an actual construction start date set yet, but we’re anxious to have them ready for next year.”

Each pool is slated for a new water feature in addition to new seating areas.

Park Road Pool is scheduled to get a water slide feature. Valley Mission Park, which already hosts the Splash Down water slides, will get a leisure training pool area. Terrace View gets a lazy river feature – a winding waterway that provides a leisurely float along a winding current of water.

None of the three pools requires much in the way of upgrades, allowing the project to focus on making each swim area more fun and more attractive. Each calls for the addition of areas where swimmers can relax and enjoy the sun and fun – in short, a place where swimmers can work on their suntan as well as their backstroke.

Jackson, for one, is excited.

“We’re really excited about next year already and we haven’t completed this year yet,” he said. “It feels a little bit like Christmas around here.”

The goal of these renovations is to bring more adults into all three pools.

“We’re hoping, with the improvements, that we’ll encourage more adults to participate instead of just dropping off the kids or observing,” Jackson said. “Right now there isn’t much area for people who aren’t swimming. With the addition of sun decks and places to just sit and relax – and with the addition of areas like the lazy river – that we can encourage more adults to participate.”