Concrete pour advances time for Franklin Pool opening

ELIZABETHTON — The Franklin Pool is a little closer to opening for the season, thanks to a lot of hard work done at the Joe LaPorte Jr. Recreation Center on Thursday. The most obvious work was a large concrete mixer truck on site, pouring concrete into molds where workers had recently repaired pipes at the renovated pool. Elizabethton Parks and Recreation Department administrative assistant Derrick Vines said the clay patches next to the pavement would also be sewn with grass seed during the day and with rains in the forecast for Friday, he said the well watered plot should soon yield bright green new grass. Maintenance staff were also doing some touch-up painting around the concession stand on Thursday morning. Even before the concrete had been poured, city officials were saying the pool would be opening "very soon". Originally, the plans were to open the pool in mid may. That opening had been much anticipated by area youth because the pool had been closed last year for extensive renovations and upgrades. Just days before the planned opening, some problems were uncovered during inspection of the construction work. It turned out that one of the newly installed pipe had mistakenly been connected to an old pipe. The pool certainly has some new features. One that Elizabethton Parks and Recreation Director David Nanney is proud of is the way the water now goes all the way to the rim of the top of the pool. From the shallow end, the swimmer enters the pool just by walking straight to the pool. There are no steps down to the water. The swimmer just begins walking into the water like walking into the ocean from a flat shoreline. Nanney said several contractors have been used throughout the renovation process. Precision Electric was hired to replace the old, corroded electrical system that feeds all buildings at the Franklin Pool. Tri-Cities Painting is pinging all exterior buildings, as well as the interior and floors of the pool house. He said the improvements look great. A & E Roofing repaired damaged gutters and restored the roof on the pump house. The park and rec. department also worked with Atmos Gas to install a new gas line that will supply new pool heaters.