Forecast still sunny for new pool opening in May

McMinnville’s Gilley Pool is under construction and will be more than twice the size of the previous pool. Rainy weather has delayed construction somewhat.

With rain delays wreaking havoc on construction schedules this fall, McMinnville officials said pool construction is a little behind but they still plan to have the new pool open by May.

Parks and Recreation Director Carlene Brown said the new pool, called “The Gilley Pool,” will offer more than 30 features for both children and adults. The 780,000 gallon pool replaces the old 300,000 gallon pool, which was demolished earlier this year.

During the past four months, workers have dug the site, set up plumbing and piping, created the pool shell and are building a new admissions/ concessions area, a new bathhouse, rest rooms for the Jungle Jym playground as well as the filter house, among other projects.

Brown said construction has been going fairly well, except for heavy rains.

“The contractors report rain delays because of the September and October rains, but hope to catch up in December and January,” she said.

Workers are completing the blocks on the walls of the buildings. Pool contractors Burrelson Pools of Huntsville, Ala. are installing a Paddock gutter system and back filling all of the circulation filtering pipes around the pool.

Brown said within the next few weeks, the roofing for the buildings should go up so interior work can begin. The filter tanks are scheduled to be delivered within the next few weeks and then the walls for the chemical filter building are expected to go up, she added.

“We’ll be in our worst winter months doing our interior work, which will help to keep things on schedule,” she added.

More than 30 water features have been manufactured and are in storage. The public should be able to get a good look at one of the slides soon, she added, because it has to be installed before the pool deck is poured.

The pool does not have a baby pool, but a beach-style “zero entry” area. It has multiple features, including three water slides, two tea cups, one tumble bucket, one rain drop, one dew drop, a frog slide, two horse cannons, one water curtain, several sprays and 10 lemon drops. It has eight competition lanes and three diving boards.

The target completion date for the pool was set for Feb. 1, but Brown said it’s looking m
ore like the completion date will be in March, which was a topic of a monthly construction meeting about the pool recently.

“We discussed strong concerns because we need a month or more to get everything fine-tuned,” she said.

The Parks and Recreation Department is also seeking a wellness and fitness director to oversee the pool staff. The wellness and fitness director will be over many other wellness programs currently in existence like the weight room or programs that are in the planning stages.