OCTOBER 1, 2009 ISSUE
New Blowing Rock Pool Under Construction
Paddock Pool employees spray concrete on what will eventually be the walls of Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation’s new pool. Paddock Pool is a subcontracted company for the project that is based in Rock Hill, S.C. “Concrete gets 98 percent of its strength within 30 days [after it’s poured],” said Tom Enterline of Enterline and Russell Builders. “It gets stronger for 100 years [then] gets weaker after that. Everything in the universe expands and contracts at a different rate. Steel and concrete expand and contract at the same rate, [which] allows us to build [with them] together. The steel would crack the concrete if it didn’t expand and contract at the same rate.” Photo by Patrick Pitzer
Construction on a new Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation pool began August 18 and completion is expected before Memorial Day weekend, said Jennifer Brown, director of Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation.
“Our old pool was 52 years old and it was just time,” Brown said, adding that the new pool will be of about the same length as the former pool, measuring about 75 feet.
The new pool’s total volume of water will be much less than the previous pool; the former pool held 188,000 gallons of water while the new one will contain only 85,000 gallons of water.
Most of the volume discrepancy is due to the fact the old pool went to a depth of 12 feet and the new one will measure only six feet in depth on the deep side, Brown said.
The pool will be U-shaped and one side will be “zero-entry,” meaning a gradual slope into the water with no stairs involved. The zero-entry side will double as a kiddie-pool space, featuring buckets that automatically fill with water and dump out and another structure that sprays water.
The old pool had a separate kiddie-pool that had been closed for the past three to four years because it was not heated and the water was too cold for children to play in, Brown said.
After public meetings and meetings with town staff and engineers, the current blueprint was adopted. “We felt this was the best way to go,” Brown said. “The pool will accommodate all ages in one pool.”
The pool will also feature moveable lap lanes for swimmers to follow in the six-foot-deep section and a waterslide that will end in a water depth of four- to 4.5-feet, Brown said.
The new pool will boast more deck space than the previous pool, including the peninsula-like deck area in between the sides of the U.
A portion of the deck space, to be located near the restrooms and changing facilities, will be covered, to offer people the option of getting out of the sun, Brown said. Drink machines, snack machines and lockers will also be located in the covered deck space.
The total deck space of the old pool totaled about 9,000 feet, with about 1,300 feet of bathhouse space, while the new pool boasts about 12,900 feet of deck space and 3,000 feet of bathhouse space—which includes the covered area, said Raeford Russell.
Russell and Tom Enterline are the co-owners of Enterline and Russell Builders, the Blowing Rock-based company hired as general contractor for the project. The contract is for $1,052,000, Russell said.
“Presently, the stormwater drainage is being installed along with grading,” Russell said. The installation of new waterlines and the relocation of existing sanitary and sewer facilities are next on the agenda, he added.
Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation received a $500,000 N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Match Grant two years ago.
The grant stipulates construction of a new facility must do more than duplicate the former facility, so Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation will create a park area outside the pool complex, with restrooms that will remain open year-round, a picnic shelter with picnic tables and a small playground, Brown said.
Additionally, the aluminum fence bordering the parking lot will be upgraded to include stone columns and a decorative fence connecting the columns, Russell said.
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