City, high school pooling resources

The city of Yuma and the Yuma Union High School District are partnering on a pool complex that will serve both high school swimmers needing a place to compete and westside residents who want a place to swim.

The $8.8 million facility will be located next to Cibola High School, and both students and the public will have joint use of the facility, said Debbie Wendt, recreation superintendent for the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

The project is set to be completed in time to open to the public June 2009 and be used by the high school swim teams in the district starting that fall, Wendt said.

The complex will be like a small water park, consisting of a 13-lane competition pool, a leisure pool and a splash pad on seven acres at 4381 W. 18th St., Wendt said.

Construction is set to begin in the next one to two weeks as workers pump high groundwater out of the area and bring in dirt to prepare the site, Wendt said.

Forty-nine percent of the cost will be paid by the school district from a voter-approved bond issue in 2005, and the remainder will come from the city, said YUHSD Superintendent Toni Badone.

"Building this pool together is meeting both of our needs. Without that we wouldn't be able to get it done because we're sharing the cost," Badone said.

The high school swim teams will use the competition pool during the school year and the entire facility will be opened to the public during the summer months, Wendt said.

The city will hold swimming lessons and open swim using both pools.

The leisure pool will start at zero depth, like a beach, and gradually deepen, she said. This pool will also have a water playground structure, water geysers, water-dumping buckets and a large water slide.

The splash pad will squirt water out from the concrete floor. "It'll be very interactive for the kids," Wendt said.

The complex will also have a bath house with men's and women's showers, family changing area, administrative space, classrooms and concessions booth.

The facility will meet Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility guidelines, Wendt said.

"This will be the first of its kind in Yuma and it will offer something that people have waited for. It'll be a small mini water park, something people have wanted for long time, and it's down in the valley (where) we have no swimming pools," Wendt said. "It's going to be a beautiful facility."

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Juana M. Gyek can be reached at jgyek@yumasun.com or 539-6872.