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City Pool Grand Opening Rescheduled

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ATHENS — The Athens City Pool will open on Monday after multiple delays, according to city officials.

The opening was scheduled for June 16, and would have kicked off with games and activities starting at 10:30 a.m., followed by the pool opening at 12 p.m.

The new swimming pool, funded by a $7.3 million bond, had experienced last-minute problems with the construction that needed to be corrected in order to pass the inspection from the Ohio Department of Health.

In an interview with Andrew Stone on Thursday, the Service Safety Director provided a list of what was to be fixed in order to receive an approval from the health department.

“There are several items that are related to fire code with gates that must be corrected, extinguishers, some signage, a couple other items with the chlorinator working properly with the fire alarm and the automatic dialer with that,” Stone said.

Stone also said, “all of these combine must be passed prior to the final sign off from the State of Ohio before receiving a county permit to operate the pool from the county health department.”

On Friday, the city announced the pool had passed final inspections and was set to open on Monday.

“Pool staff will participate in training this weekend, then swim lessons will begin on Monday, as scheduled. Normal pool hours are Sunday through Monday, from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.”

Many Athens residents have been wondering, what will happen to the season passes that were already purchased?

The Arts, Park and Recreation Center is looking into how to approach that issue. There are a couple different options such as partial refunds or extending the season passes beyond August.

All season pass holders will be notified individually once a decision has been made.

Swimming lessons are expected to take place this week, and students are being provided a rain day and will be provided other options to recover a day or two.

When the pool opens, those who travel to East State Street using the US Route 33 ramp will have to use an alternative route because the ramp is temporarily closed for 45 days for construction.

A grand opening and ribbon cutting even will be held on June 30.