The Smithville Municipal Swimming Pool has seen better days and in need of some major renovations, but the city is committing $100,000 towards repairs before its planned opening next May. The city has also increased its hourly pay for lifeguards in order to attract participants this summer.

During Smithville’s regular monthly meeting on Monday, December 4, the Mayor and Aldermen heard from Tiera Nash of A Cut Above Outdoors, LLC in Cookeville, who submitted a bid of $95,700 to do the repairs for the city. The pool has been repaired several times over its 50-years, but Nash said the pool has deteriorated this time to the point that it should not be opened unless some further renovations are made.

“If you don’t do anything, it should not be opened,” said Nash. “Its old. From what I gather it was built in the 70s but it’s in better shape than we expected. We walked the whole pool and brought our foreman, who has been with us 22 years, just to get another set of eyes because there is a lot of damage to the pool.”

“Sixteen lights need to be changed. They are 220-volt lights that need to be changed to low voltage. That is one of the first things that needs to be done. All the big lights need to come out and the holes. They are like a 12-inch hole, so they will need to be removed. We will have to chisel into the frame of the pool so we can fill in with new concrete product and plaster to make new sockets because the LED lights are only six inches. These lights would only be LED and if anything were to go wrong no one would be electrocuted. It’s just not possible. They would need new fittings, new connectors and new transformers and they would run off of a remote. You could have up to six different colored lights or just white,” Nash explained.

“Another issue is the tile,” said Nash. “In all public pools you have tile at the top of the poo,l which we call the bond beam, and this pool in Smithville has a 12-inch piece on the top. There is two feet of tile that is falling apart and crumbling. The little grates that the water goes into to circulate the water in the pool, only half of them is connected. They are just falling apart. There is one corner, especially where the shallow end goes into the kiddie pool, the whole corner has come off the pool. You can see right in the wall.”

“The steps that go into the kiddie pool are also in very bad shape,” said Nash. “There are cracks in the pool. In the corner, there are several cracks and some in the floor. Some cracks in the body need to be addressed as well as the removal of the caulking. When you are in the pool you see the tile meeting the concrete decking and there is almost one inch gap of caulking that goes all the way around and its hideous. It needs to be replaced”.

The board voted unanimously to make all the repairs suggested by Nash, totaling $95,700 and to pay for it through a budget amendment. Two readings of such an ordinance would need to be approved before payment could be authorized.

Nash added in her bid proposal that, “This pool is very old and there could be hidden issues that we are unable to see until we remove damaged areas and start repairs. There could be some additional costs once we remove these areas and have a better visual. Parts of the pool where it is deteriorating may be soft up inside and require more removal and repair.”

The city has also addressed better pay for lifeguards, an issue that kept the pool from opening last summer.

Smithville Aldermen voted to increase the pay of lifeguards from $12 to $15 per hour, and for the city to pay up front the $230 fees for lifeguards to attend classes to become certified. Lifeguards, or their parents, would be required to sign an agreement to reimburse the city for cost if the lifeguards were to fail the required test or resign before the season is over.

Smithville Golf Course and Pool manager Gina Cawthorn said that at least 15 lifeguards are needed and certification classes are being offered. “We need at least 15 lifeguards before we can open even for three or four days a week. Right now, I am begging for lifeguards.”

“Last year we only had seven come forward. People ask why do you need more than seven lifeguards? Let’s say we are open five days a week, six to eight hours a day. We can’t leave a lifeguard out in the sun over four or five hours. It’s not healthy. They need to be relieved every four or five hours,” said Cawthorn.

The pool is scheduled to open after school is out usually around Memorial Day weekend.