Minor Repairs Needed Before Overhaul Starts Next Year
 

By Amy Eddings

A bigger, better concession stand and a new water play zone are some of the features Ada village officials say they’d like to add to the community’s pool when a major renovation begins next year.  They outlined their wish list for the village’s Community Improvement Committee at their meeting last Wednesday at Ohio Northern University.

The nearly $1.5 million preliminary plan, by the firm Freytag and Associates, would be funded by the income tax levy that voters approved last November and by $200,000 in grants from Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources.  Village administrator Jamie Hall said they won’t know until the fall if they’ve been awarded the grants.

“There will be a project without grant money,” Hall said, “but it would just allow us to do more things.”

A major goal of the village is to improve the concession stand and make it more profitable.  The current set-up limits the village to selling packaged goods and microwavable pizza and popcorn.  Even with two microwaves going, Hall said, it takes “3 to 4 minutes” to microwave each pizza or popcorn order.  “That’s too long,” he said.  “You’ve got lines [of customers] that you can’t serve.”  A new stand could include a popcorn machine and food warmers, maybe even ovens or grills, which would allow the concession stand to expand its menu.

“We can do better with concessions,” Hall said, “and make it into a profit center.”

Other services Hall said he’d like to see is a splash pad near the water slide.  A splash pad is an area that’s fitted with a non-slip surface and various nozzles that shoot or spray water for recreational play.  This, Hall suggested, would be especially welcome for families with babies and toddlers.

He pointed to a projected image showing the entrance to the pool’s slide, and a sign noting that children must be 40” or taller to use it.  “Part of the reason we’re talking about improvements is obvious”, he said, looking at the image.  “We’re limited in what kids can use.” 

But those crowd-pleasing additions would be the icing on a project that, first and foremost, must shore up a crumbling cake.  The plaster steps leading into the pool’s shallow end are flaking.  So is the fiberglass on the slide.  Hall said these will be patched up before the pool opens next month.  But he said a major overhaul must be done.

“It’s not that the pool wasn’t being kept up,” he told committee members and attendees.  “The facilities are getting old.”

The renovation would begin in the fall of 2016 and conclude in the spring of 2017.  Hall said the pool season would not be interrupted.

This pool season will begin with a new pool manager.  Village officials say Angela Rembis brings “good ideas” and will be making program changes.  Lifeguards are still needed.  Applications are available at the Village Hall. 

Ada’s pool season begins Saturday, May 23, a week before the traditional Memorial Day weekend opening.  The season will end earlier as a result.  The tentative closure date is Monday, August 17, weather permitting.  Passes are on sale at Village Hall. Prices have not changed.  For Ada residents/taxpayers, they’re $30 per person until June 1 and $40 thereafter.  Passes for non-residents/taxpayers are $60 per person until June 1 and $80 thereafter.