Decatur City Commission Approves Renovation Plan for Ebster Pool
Decatur Metro | August 9, 2013
At Monday’s City Commission meeting, the commission approved the plan for the renovation of Ebster Pool, which has been an on-and-off topic of discussion for the past year or so. According to the meeting agenda, “The plan includes the following elements:”
- Changes to the pool to reduce its length from 25 meters to 25 yards and to widen the pool to provide 8 lanes for competitive swimming.
- Overhead lighting to allow longer hours for swimming meets.
- New mechanical systems to replace the original filtration tanks and pumps installed when the pool was built over 30 years ago.
- Complete renovation of the bathhouse to include new men’s and women’s changing rooms, a family changing room, new staff office, mechanical and storage rooms.
- New shade structures and a spray pad for young children.
- New lift for disabled swimmers, new water fountains, fencing and other amenities.
The $1 million budget will be wrapped into the larger Beacon Hill Municipal Complex project. Deputy City Manager Hugh Saxon says the city is considering employing Potts Construction for the project, the contractor who is currently working on the Beacon Hill project.
Mr. Saxon said at the meeting that the pool would be ready for operation in May 2014.
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Has the diving board fallen to contemporary norms? Cue trombone!
Thank our litigious culture spawned by our entitlement society that is encouraged by the wonderful trial attorneys.
For real. At least there’s still Medlock
Scores of people attempting Triple Lindys in the 1980s hastened its demise.
Emory’s pool has the diving boards, but when I told my kids “Watch this, your Dad is going to do a 1 and 1/2 flip.” My daughter pointed out the “No Flips” sign.
Really!?!?
Oh well, at least there’s still a board…
Venetian Pools has a diving board. Diving boards are fun, plus fairly mandatory for diving as a competitive sport. But they are a lot of work to monitor because there’s so many ways that people can hurt themselves on them. Plus they take out at least a couple of potential lap lanes. My guess is that there’s extra insurance costs too.
And if you put your name on the waiting list with a hefty deposit, you MIGHT be a member before you retire.
The deposit to be on the waiting list is only $50. Over the 4-5 years it takes to get in, it’s only $10 to $12/year!
It’s the initiation fee that is hefty. True that you have to get on the waiting list at birth. I thought that the recession and the newer competing options like the Emory Clairemont Pool and Lake Claire Pool would reduce the line. But I guess the kiddie boom impacts pool memberships too.
Yep, gone as of last season.
Emory has a high (10ft) and lower dive (3ft). My kids have now dubbed it the best pool ever.
Candler Park and Venetian both have diving boards, but you have to belong. Emory allows the community to use the pool for a fee.
Wonder why you’d want to SHORTEN the length of pool lanes? Competition is usually based on 25 meters, isn’t it?
You can take your metric system back down to hell where it came from.
Most pools are 25 yards across and 50 meters long. And most competitive summer leagues are all in yards.
no Baby Ruths allowed
I heard there was some controversy about the overhead (tennis-style) lights and that underwater lights were preferable to allow the lifeguards to see to the bottom of a 10 foot pool at night. This was in an email I received when my child was a member of the Decatur Gators swim team. But they’re going with the overheads? This makes me nervous.
I beg them not to put squirters on the bottom of the “spray pad”. Kids just sit on them and turn them into enemas. Unintentionally grossest invention ever.