The Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department continues to renovate and make improvements to the R.W. Huntington Pool, which sees between 100 and 200 visitors daily.
Noticeable improvements at the pool, built decades ago, include the addition of a large sun shade, lounge chairs, tables and chairs and new fencing in some areas, while significant behind-the-scenes changes include upgrades to the facility’s electricity and chlorine system, among others.
“I’m excited for all the improvements we’ve had,” said Kyler Sowell, aquatics supervisor.
The improvements Sowell said, were greatly needed.
“I’ve been doing this for about 12 years now and we’ve not seen any of these major improvements before,” he said.
After a complete repainting of the facility last year, along with the addition of around 25 lounge chairs and a new mural, “We’ve now added tables and chairs for people to actually sit at,” Sowell said.
Visitors will immediately notice a new, 20X30-foot shade canopy on the north side of the pool.
“It’s really nice, because before, the sun would really beat down on you,” Sowell noted.
The Park Department also is running its own concessions at the pool this year after the previous contract expired.
Besides the changes obvious to visitors, Sowell said, “We’ve made major improvements to the electricity, and we’ve added hot water.”
“We hadn’t had hot water here in many years,” added Parks and Recreation Director Lanny Corcimiglia.
Updates also have been made to the pool’s aging chlorinator system.
“We’re putting new pieces on an old system, so eventually we’ll have a fairly new system,” explained Corcimiglia.
The updates, both Sowell and Corcimiglia agreed, will save the Park Department money in the along run by allowing it to focus on simple maintenance instead of costly repairs.
“This year we’ve had to spend a little bit, but in the long run, it’s going to save us a bunch of time, money and everything else,” Sowell said. “We’ve been able to update so much this year that now we’ll be able to maintain on a low level.”
The upgrades, Sowell noted, also will keep the facility competitive with others in the region.
“These were updates that should have been done a while ago to keep the facility up and running and up to par with all the other outdoor facilities around here,” Sowell said, “… So now it’s exciting that we’re actually hitting the benchmark of where we should be.”
However, the completed upgrades are just part of a larger plan, with more improvements on the way.
“They’re about to add another canopy over our concession area, so when birthday parties are held here, they actually will have a nice shaded area,” Sowell said.
That project, Corcimiglia said, will include expanding the concrete in the area and should be done before the end of the season.
New countertops at the front counter also are in the works, Corcimiglia said.
A big project, which Corcimiglia hopes can be completed next year, is the replacement of the pool liner.
“Next year, we’ll hopefully be able to replace the pool liner, which is 16 or 17 years old,” he said.
Patching the liner, Corcimiglia said, has been an “ongoing thing” for a long time.
“The practice,” he explained, “has been to drain the whole pool in the off-season, and sunlight and cold weather dries and cracks it, usually in the shallow end.”
At some future point, Corcimiglia said, he would like to have some type of cover for the pool to prevent liner damage.
Looking farther into the future, Corcimiglia has even bigger plans.
“My long-term plans are to do something like a splash pad in the next few years,” he said.
In the meantime, he said, “We’re trying, and we’re moving forward.”