Glasgow's City Pool is Drowning

The city pool in Glasgow was built where it stands, or slouches now, 43 years ago. It was opened in June of 1974. It was expected to last around 10 years. Like many other things in Glasgow, it has long outlasted its expiration date. It is now in dilapidated, unsafe condition, and is something that the city of Glasgow as a whole and its residents should be embarrassed about. Why haven’t we built a new pool? Why are we putting pool-goers at risk of injury? What is the solution?

Glasgow’s pool is the home to many different activities, even in its current state. Open and lap swims, swim lessons, Glasgow Kiwanis Swim Team, as well as other groups use the facility.

Open and lap swims, as well as swim lessons, are ran by the city Recreation Department. These resources are vital for people in our community learning how to swim, along with honing their skills in the water. With Fort Peck Lake, as well as the Milk and Missouri Rivers so close to home, being able to swim is very valuable. Along with the skills the swimmers gain, many high school and college students are hired during the summer to work as lifeguards, helping them pay for ever increasing tuition and also giving them valuable work and first aid/CPR experience. But how are the swimmers and lifeguards supposed to concentrate if the facility is crumbling?

Glasgow Kiwanis Swim Team recently held their annual invitational. A conservative estimate of people in attendance would be 500. That is a very large impact in our local economy. Imagine the business that hotels, restaurants, gas stations and others gain from an influx of 500 people into our community.

People of Glasgow are also notoriously proud of our community. Do we really want 500 people from all over the state visiting our pool, only to see the horrible condition it is in? That is certainly not something to be proud of.

The impact from visitors isn’t the only thing the GKST brings to the table. Over 50 of our youth are part of the team. The age range is usually 6-19. During the summer they develop their swimming skills, health, competitive spirit and confidence (both in the water and out). Swimmers also meet many friends over the summer, not only from Glasgow, but from places all over the state.

So, it is obvious that our pool is invaluable in this community. So how do we move forward? What is the solution? Well, many of you will remember the efforts to build a new pool, the Glasgow Aquatic Center. The efforts were started in 1989. 27 years ago. Tens of thousands of dollars had been donated, much of the groundwork was already done, and about five years ago, they were nearing a solution. The plan was to include Valley County into the project, possibly levying a 20-year tax (at the time, Valley County had over ten times the bonding capacity Glasgow had). However, the jail (for prisoners) was in the works so the pool (for upstanding citizens) took a back burner, and the project stalled out and dissolved. Another problem was the plans for the new pool were very ambitious, including large paved parking lots, water slides, and lazy rivers. This project was expected to cost around $8 million. Now that the jail is complete and the pool is in even more critical condition, can City Council, the County Commissioners, along with dedicated community members work together to create and complete a conservative plan with room for expansion?