Huntingburg Council discusses adding a dome to city pool

The City of Huntingburg and Southwest Dubois County School Corporation are continuing discussions regarding adding a temporary dome to the city pool for year-round swimming activities.

The idea of adding a dome to the city pool has been a discussion between the city under former Mayor Steve Schwinghamer, school officials and members of the public for several months.

The school corporation sees the dome as an option to allow the Southridge swim teams to train in Huntingburg. The swimmers have been training at nearby school corporations–Pike Central originally and now Heritage Hills–since the high school pool was shuttered in 2021.

The corporation closed the school’s pool due to its condition and the damage to the ground underneath it from constant leaking. While attempting to remedy issues with the 50-plus-year-old pool, engineers informed the corporation that the pool installed was not the correct type for in-ground installation.

Additionally, to determine whether a new pool could be installed in its place, the engineering study cost, which was estimated to be over a million dollars, was deemed too high to take on. Especially considering undertaking the study gave no guarantees the site would be suitable for a new pool.

Proponents of the project are hopeful other organizations, like Jasper Aquatic Wildcats (JAWS), who does not have a pool to train in due to the renovation of the Jasper City Pool, and Forest Park, who also travels to Heritage Hills to train for lack of a pool in Ferdinand, could be interested in using it.

Larry Fuesler, former president of Southridge Aquatic Raider Gators, and Southridge Superintendent Chip Mehaffey presented the council with preliminary estimates for the installation and operations of the domed pool.

The purchase of the dome and construction of its foundation around the pool, including removing the current slide (it is too tall for the dome), was estimated to be about $765,000. The school corporation would own the dome and be responsible for installing and removing it annually.

Creating a connection from the dome to the existing bathrooms/changing rooms could cost about $60,000, a new slide about $10,000, water heater for the pool $52,000, and heat for the bathrooms $72,000.

Operationally, Fuesler estimated utilities could cost about $70,000 during the seasonal usage. He stated this was based on information provided by the vendor as well as the utility rate the city pays.

Fuesler told the council the expanded use of the pool would accommodate more than just the swimming teams. Before the high school pool closed, the Tri-County YMCA offered swim lessons to more than 150 kids yearly.

“We can’t do that anymore,” he said. “The city still does that through the summer program, but they are so backlogged they cannot even take all the kids.”

He added that although swimming is a great sport, it is also a survival skill.

Fuesler also said the YMCA was interested in offering water aerobics and other classes in the pool if it was available.

Mayor Neil Elkins acknowledged former Huntingburg Mayor Steve Schwinghamer’s role in bringing this project forward. However, he also expressed concerns over operational and maintenance costs for the dome and pool over the next 15 years, which is the estimated life of the dome. “I am in favor of at least looking at it,” he told the council. “I think it’s a great opportunity for the city to be able to utilize a pool year-round.”

With the limited use the domed pool would provide for the school–they likely wouldn’t be able to host meets there, Councilman Steve McPherron asked if it was worth considering since it only appeared to be a temporary bandaid for the school’s issue.

Superintendent Mehaffey agreed the proposal wasn’t the best solution but acknowledged that the corporation could not build a new pool facility at this time.

He explained that with the student population at Southridge going up, the corporation would be balancing the current capital projects underway with the need to expand classrooms and faculties over the next 12 to 15 years.

“We are in a unique situation where we are growing in enrollment, which is exciting,” Mehaffey said, adding growth has created an issue with the available space on their campuses.
The school corporation is working through solutions to accommodate preschool students because the kindergarten through 12th-grade students will be filling all the corporation’s classrooms the next school year.

“As these classes get larger in the elementary (schools) we’ll need to expand the middle school and will also need to expand the high school,” Mehaffey said.

Mehaffey explained the corporation is planning for these expansions but can’t take on an added $13 to $15 million natatorium project. “We would love to build a new natatorium for our students, but we just don’t have that ability,” he said.

Compared to kids now having to travel to Heritage Hills and train in two lanes of their pool with other teams and organizations, Mehaffey told McPherron he felt it was the best solution for the time being.

The council agreed that the pool operations would have to be worked out and a usage agreement considered before any decisions on the project could be made.

Two council members expressed they were in favor of the idea.

Councilman Glen Kissling said he supported the project because of his family’s involvement in swimming sports. “Both my daughters went through swimming, and both of them went to state,” he said.

He also felt the swim program at the high school would grow if it had access to a nearby facility. This year, the swim team comprises eight girls and five boys.

Councilwoman Pam Bolte added that having a stronger swim program could help overcome the difficulties of finding qualified lifeguards for summer operations. She stated that she was surprised at the number of applicants who were unable to pass the lifeguard tests. “I think it is a direct effect to [sic] the state of the pool,” she said.

Councilman Jeff Bounds questioned how the dome would affect the aesthetic of the City Park. “What will this look like at the entrance to our beautiful park,” he said.

Mayor Elkins said they were waiting for a quote to create design renderings, but the holidays had slowed the process. He added that he did ask for renderings showing what it would look like with League Stadium in the background.

Additionally, Elkins stated he had meetings set up with other groups interested in possibly using the pool.

He added they would pull together a better estimate of operational and maintenance costs for the council as they continued to study the proposal.

Cover image provided for example only. No renderings have been completed.