Prosser pool to get makeover

PROSSER -- Prosser's 53-year-old community pool is getting a major makeover.

The city council voted this week to proceed with a project to replace the city's aging aquatics facilities with a heated 25-meter lap pool, plus a recreation pool with water slide and water toy in E. J. Miller Park.

The council authorized having an architect from Spokane prepare a bid package so the $2.7 million project can begin late this year and be ready for the swim season in June.

A state grant of $500,000 from the Recreation and Conservation Office, $600,000 from the city and $40,000 in private donations have helped launch the project that also will require about $1.6 million in 20-year city council-authorized general obligation bonds for completion.

Charlie Bush, the city manager, said part of the goal is to provide additional youth and adult activities that may address the city council's No. 1 goal: gang prevention.

The final design as approved by the council calls for:

-- A new heated 25-meter lap pool with a deep-end drop slide.

-- A new heated recreation pool with zero depth entry, a water slide and a water toy.

-- A new bathhouse, new mechanical room and staff building.

-- Lounge chairs and sun shades for pool patrons, with a grassy area inside the pool boundary for family activities.

-- New sidewalks on Park Avenue and Kinney Way adjacent to the pool site.

-- A new concession stand that will serve patrons of the pool and the park if bids on the project are low enough.

The project will be designed for a future phase to include a lazy river and splash pad.

Bush said ALSC Architects of Spokane designed the project to make the most of the existing community pool by putting most of the new features inside the existing pool area to minimize costs. The existing bathhouse will be used for storage and as an overflow bathhouse.

Mayor Paul Warden said the new aquatics facility will be a first-class recreational facility for the entire Valley.

Bush and several council members spent months visiting other community water parks in Eastern Washington to incorporate the best elements of each in Prosser's project.

"We think we are hitting a grand slam with this project," he said in a statement issued Wednesday.

The design has a retractable fence that will allow the recreation pool to remain open during Prosser Piranhas swim meets and swim practices.

"We are excited about how this facility blends into E.J. Miller Park, one of our largest and most active parks," said Cathleen Koch, deputy city administrator/finance director.

"It will be a nice complement to our new Boys and Girls Club in E.J. Miller Park," she said in a statement released Wednesday.

Demolition on the old pool is expected to begin in October, with construction starting in November.

The old pool is plagued with mechanical failures and leaks and opened late each of the past two swimming seasons.