City Council Decides Glenwood Aquatic Center Won't Open In 2022

There will be no swimming this summer at the Glenwood Aquatic Center.

The Glenwood City Council made the decision last week to keep the facility closed for the season after water leakage was detected following repairs to a crack in the water line used to fill the pool.

The crack in a “Tee” on the water line, discovered in May, delayed the planned opening of the aquatic center over Memorial Day weekend. That repair, which required the removal of concrete, took several weeks to complete. The repair work did get completed in June and city officials planned to open the facility on Monday, June 27. A new issue surfaced, however, in the days leading up to the planned opening. Glenwood Public Works Director Jamey Clark said the pool was filled with water on Saturday, June 25, but by Monday, June 27, the water level had dropped a few feet.

The city council made the decision to not open the facility this summer at its regular meeting last Tuesday. An announcement was immediately made on the Glenwood Aquatic Center and City of Glenwood Facebook pages.

“Unfortunately, due to the ongoing repairs needed at the Aquatic Center the decision was made to not open the pool for the 2022 season. This decision was not taken lightly and weighs heavily on us,” the announcement stated. “This is not the outcome we had worked or hoped for.

We will continue to repair the pool and work with engineers to comprehensively look over the pool and see if there are underlining issues that cause these ongoing challenges.”

The city council was informed on Tuesday that JEO Consulting Group, the engineering firm for the six-year-old aquatic center, had been notified of the problems and was sending a representative with SCUBA gear to inspect the pool. That inspection, conducted later in the week, determined joint-seal work will need to be completed to stop the water leakage. A similar issue forced a four-day closure of the aquatic center in 2018.

City Administator Amber Farnan said since the warranty on the aquatic center has expired, the city will be liable for the cost of the repairs. Farnan added that the decision to not the open the facility in 2022 was difficult to make.

“We really do feel the frustration of citizens,” she said.

Farnan said the city would do everything in its power to ensure repairs are made correctly and the facility is ready for a full season of swimming in 2023.

Most of Glenwood’s current city council members were not in their elected positions when engineering and construction firms were selected for the aquatic center or when the nearly $5 million facility was being built. While JEO served as the engineer for the project, Eriksen Construction was awarded the contracting bid. The facility opened in July 2016.

Several council members voiced their frustration over the situation at last week’s meeting. They questioned what recourse, if any, the city has in recovering costs associated with repairs to a facility that is just six years old.

Persons or families who purchased a season pass for the aquatic center can request a refund on the city website (www.cityofglenwood.org.) or by writing to cityclerk@cityofglenwood.org.