MADISON, Ind. (WDRB) — A project to renovate a southern Indiana pool is forcing it to stay closed for this summer season.
The city of Madison’s Crystal Beach Swimming Pool was found to have extensive damage after the liner was removed in January. That includes structural damage like crumbling concrete and filters that failed pressure tests. Now, the city is planning to call in engineers to come up with a design plan to fix the pool and expand its lifespan.
“Once the liner was removed we saw that the retaining walls have completely failed, water has gotten in behind them, so it’s no longer connected to the rest of the structure,” said Nicole Schell, director of planning for the City of Madison.
Schell said ideally, the construction would’ve taken place between pool season ’21 and season ’22, but finding more damage than expected is forcing the pool to stay closed through this summer.
“… unfortunately once we removed the liner, the damage was more extensive and it’s just not feasible to get that done in a safe manner to open this season,” said Schell.
Crystal Beach, an icon for the city, first opened in 1938. Over the decades, thousands have put the space to use. While there have been patchwork repairs over time, the city now says major improvements are needed.
“We hope that people are patient with us because we want to … like I said … fix this correctly and responsibly the first time,” said Matt Woolard, director of parks and recreation for the City of Madison.
Woolard said this project is expected to expand the life of the pool for 20-30 years.
“We couldn’t, in good conscious, have an open season this year,” he said.
CRYSTAL BEACH pool in Madison, Indiana is NOT opening for the summer 2022 season. 🏊🏻♂️🚧 A rehab project revealed extensive damage beyond what was expected when the liner was removed, so the city has decided to do a full renovation project hoping to extend the life of the pool. pic.twitter.com/RTOwxiDIwC
— Darby Beane (@DarbyBeane) May 11, 2022
The city first announced plans to renovate the pool house at the Crystal Beach back in 2017 as part of the Stellar Plan. The project includes renovating the first and second floors of the pool house, adding an elevator and HVAC system, updating electrical and plumbing systems, and creating an event space.
Work continues at the pool house at Crystal Beach in Madison, Indiana.
That part of the project is moving along as planned, and the pool house should open in the fall of 2022. At that time, guests can rent the event space. But while the pool house will open, the pool itself will remain closed until the 2023 summer season.
In the meantime, city officials said they have been in contact with other surrounding pools in the area to prepare them for the possible increase in guests coming from Madison this summer.
Area pools include: Clifty Falls State Park Pool, the Switzerland County YMCA, the Carroll County Pool, North Vernon Swimming Pool or the Versailles State Park Pool.
More information about the project can be found by clicking here.
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