Paso Robles plans to reopen Centennial Pool in 2016

The city of Paso Robles will reopen its popular Centennial Pool in summer 2016 after a five-year closure to save money. 

The site off Nickerson Drive has a 200,000-gallon main pool, a kiddie pool, restrooms, lifeguard rooms and a water slide. It was closed in 2011 to save the city $112,000 annually during the recession.

The city’s west side facility, Municipal Pool on 28th Street, has remained open for those seeking refuge from the North County’s notoriously hot summers. Now, Centennial will reopen next year after repairs and upgrades for disabled access are completed. 

Municipal Pool also needs upgrades to meet the same access requirements, officials say, bringing the total cost for both sites to $509,874. 

However, per the Paso Robles City Council’s direction, about $100,000 could be shaved from that price tag if Centennial’s aging concrete pool deck can be temporarily patched instead of replaced altogether, city Recreation Director Julie Dahlen said.

“I’m very happy that we’ll be able to offer this to the community, but we acknowledge that it’s very costly,” Dahlen said. “We certainly want it to be in tip-top shape, and it must be done in a way that’s safe and lawful with (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements — and those things cost money.”

Reopening Centennial Pool was a hot topic during the City Council’s November election, and the newly seated council has since made its reopening a priority. 

“We heard ‘reopen the pool’ very loudly and very succinctly during the campaign season and … the council thought it was best to make it happen,” Mayor Steve Martin said.

The council’s vote earlier this month on the move was unanimous.

On Friday, the shuttered facility stood barren behind a locked gate. The dingy water was cluttered with leaves and debris under a sun-baked vinyl pool cover that was clearly showing its age. A new pool cover is one of the many things that need to be replaced.

Water remained in the pool even while it was closed because Dahlen said emptying it posed more risk of structural damage from the sun and changing weather.

“We have kept water in the pool while it was closed, but kept treatment to a minimum,” she added.

Deferred maintenance was also an issue elsewhere — the main pool pump needs repairs, there’s a partially collapsed ceiling in a lifeguard room, and the restrooms are dirty with peeling paint and shabby fixtures. The water slide also needs to be inspected.

The biggest projects involve meeting new disabled-access requirements, including making wheelchair-accessible changes to the restrooms, courtyard area and some parking spaces; creating sloped entries at the main and kiddie pools; and changing the configuration of the outdoor shower, among other things. There are also costs involved in starting up Centennial’s summer aquatic program, utilities and staffing.

The Centennial Pool rehabilitation is expected to take nine months; construction is slated to start in August.

Martin plans to host his first mayor’s dinner fundraiser — tentatively planned for April 2016 — so the community can help raise money for the projects needed to reopen Centennial Pool. The city will reopen the facility regardless, but Martin said fundraising would be a special way for the community to pitch in and alleviate some of the city’s costs.

Disabled access requirements needed at Municipal Pool will take about six months to complete, officials said, and will require an approximately one-month closure planned for spring 2016.

This story was originally published May 25, 2015 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Paso Robles plans to reopen Centennial Pool in 2016."