City talks swimming pool partnership

A possible swimming pool partnership between Enterprise City Schools, Enterprise State Community College and the city of Enterprise is closer to reality.

At the Enterprise City Council meeting June 7, Enterprise Mayor Kenneth Boswell told the council that a memorandum of understanding between the three entities has been drawn up and ECS Superintendent Dr. Camille Wright and ESCC Interim President Dr. Vicky Ohlson will present them to their respective board of directors.

The city has also received a cost estimate of $8,000 for a company to assess the condition of the ESCC pool, Boswell said.

At a city council meeting last month, Boswell said he would meet with Ohlson and Wright to discuss a possible partnership with the schools regarding the indoor swimming pool on the ESCC campus that closed years ago because of needed repairs and high operating expenses.

Boswell said discussions with the school officials took on heightened importance recently after city of Enterprise Parks and Recreation Director Billy Powell told the council that the cost to repair the large cracks in the city pool at the M.N. “Jug” Brown Recreation Facility on East Lee Street, built in the late 1950s, could be more than $16,000 and that the repairs could not be guaranteed.

A maintenance technician discovered the cracks in the city pool after the newly filled pool drained its 180,000 gallons of water in a short time, Powell said.

Repairs to the city pool, if the council decided to go that route, were expected to take several weeks. The pool would then have to be repainted and lifeguards trained, Powell said.

Boswell said opening the ESCC pool through a partnership could possibly offer the high school swim team, college students and people in the community year-round access to a pool for fitness, swim lessons and recreation.

In other business, the council approved Amanda Hughes’ request for a permit to hold a 5K fundraiser for the Hoyt Foundation to benefit children with special needs. The race is set for Saturday, June 25, from 10 a.m. until noon, with the race to begin and end at Enterprise High School.

The next meeting of the Enterprise City Council is Tuesday, June 21, at 6 p.m. at the Enterprise City Council Chambers in Enterprise City Hall.