The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The community pool fundraising project is in motion, which raises the question of what sort of pool will the community be building? Plans for the pool are based on its placement in the lot near the graveyard on the southern end of the lot. The north side will remain an undeveloped field and will continue to belong to the local schools.

The deep end of the pool will either be 10 or 7 feet deep. The depth will ultimately be determined by the total capital raised before the groundbreaking. The shallow end will measure 3.5 feet deep, which is enough for a racer to execute a flip turn at either end of the pool, an upgrade over the current swimming pool, which only allows for flip turns in the deep end. The pool will be 25 meters across and 6 swimming lanes wide, which is a much larger footprint than the old pool. It also means that the swim team will be able to host meets at home.

The pool construction will include a building to the west of the pool. It will house bathrooms and locker rooms. The size of the building will be determined by funds raised at the time of breaking ground.

The pool will include several features of particular interest to the community. After consulting with Lorrie Merrill and Heather Pleninger, both of whom have extensive experience with handicap accessibility due to their work with Big Sandy Activities, the committee made the decision to include a zero entry ramp. Zero entry refers to a ramp that can be accessed via wheelchair. This is an advantage over the more traditional winch system used for handicap accessible pools because it is easier for both the individual getting into the pool and the one helping. The zero entry ramp also makes the project eligible for grants related to making public facilities ADA compliant.

The plans also include several components that can be built in with the initial construction or added later through special fundraisers. These include a splash pad for children, a diving board, blocks for racers to use for competitions, landscaping, and a water slide. The initial construction will include the necessary elements to upgrade later. This allows flexibility in the total fundraising target and potentially an earlier groundbreaking date.

The handicapped areas of the parking lot will be paved along with the sidewalks to access the building, but the rest of the parking lot will be gravel as a way of saving money on the total construction bill.

The start day for commencing construction has yet to be determined and will be based on the fundraising efforts. Currently, the projected target is around 3 years out.