Saturday, May 26th, 2018
St. Henry pool set to make splash
By Tom Stankard
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard
Collin Mescher places a chair along the fence at St. Henry's new pool Thursday morning. The village is set to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony and unveiling of the new pool at 11:30 a.m. Monday. The new pool includes two water slides, a splash pad and a zero-slope entry.
ST. HENRY - The public should finally get a chance to test out the village's new pool on Monday.
Astro Pool crew members had been busy behind a screened fence for more than a year building a new pool complete with four more swimming lanes, two 20-feet-tall water slides, a splash pad, two rock-climbing walls and several other features.
St. Henry Stingrays swim team coach Patricia Lefeld was part of the 20-member planning commitee and periodically watched the construction of the "amazing design."
Increasing from four to eight lanes will help the 103-member team "be able to work technique and drill with varied swimmers," she said, adding the team could eventually host league championship meets.
Swim team board president Angie Raugh has convinced businesses to help pay for new starting blocks, Lefeld said. Those businesses will be honored with a plaque behind the blocks they have sponsored.
At the pool on Friday afternoon, village administrator Ron Gelhaus said the old pool was approaching 50 years old and was becoming dated.
The new pool's shallow end includes a zero-point entryway and toy lilypads on which younger children can walk.
High above, people can go down a pair of waterslides, one straight and one that curves.
In the deep end, swimmers can jump off two diving boards and try to scale the two rock-climbing walls.
Inside the pump house, six water pumps and five chemical pumps control the 290,000 gallons of water in the pool.
Admission has increased this season, Gelhaus had pointed out at previous council meetings. A family season pass is $140 and an individual season pass is $60. Single-day admission is $5 per person and children ages 3 and younger have free admission.
The village is hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony and unveiling on Monday at 11:30 a.m. at 211 Parkview Drive. Refreshments and hot dogs will be served with free swimming.
"It should be a great day on Monday to celebrate a great project for the village," Gelhaus said.
The new complex cost about $1.2 million, which was partially funded by $600,000 in state capital funds.
The features were selected by a 20-member pool planning commitee.
