The Arnold Recreation Center indoor pool will be shut down for about six weeks for a restoration project later this year.
The city will pay $349,546 to Daikin TMI of Chesterfield to replace the pool surface’s plaster and install a new play structure in the shallow end. City Council members voted unanimously April 16 to approve the contract.
Parks and Recreation Department Director Dave Crutchley said the project is expected to begin in early September, and the pool is expected to be closed until mid-October.
He said the city will keep the outdoor pool open while the indoor pool is closed.
The outdoor pool at the rec center, 1695 Missouri State Road, typically opens over Memorial Day weekend near the end of May and closes after Labor Day, which is Sept. 9 this year.
“We plan to keep the outdoor pool open for as long as weather permits,” Crutchley said.
This is the second time in three years that the city will try to keep the outdoor pool open longer while work is being done to the indoor pool.
In 2023, Arnold kept the outdoor pool open until Oct. 2 to allow workers to remove rust and repaint beams and ductwork over the indoor pool.
“The weather was hot all the way until October (in 2023),” Crutchley said. “If it starts getting cold and stays cold, we will put an end to it. As long as it is nice during the day, we will keep it open.
“We felt it worked perfectly last time,” he said. “The weather cooperated, and the job cooperated. Everything worked out perfectly. I am hoping it is the same for this project, too.”
Restoration
The pool will be drained to replace the plaster, which Crutchley said was last replaced in 2010.
He said typically pool plaster wears out and needs to be replaced after seven to 15 years.
“We have gotten our money’s worth out of it,” he said.
Crutchley said there are numerous small sections in the pool where the plaster is popping off. He also said a cone had to be placed in a part of the lazy river due to the amount of plaster that has separated from the pool bed.
Crutchley said the plaster coming off creates the risk for swimmers to be cut. However, he said the indoor pool is safe to use, and he has not been told of anyone being hurt while swimming in the indoor pool.
“We have found more and more pieces as we go through the pool,” he said. “We check it every day to make sure there are no big pieces coming off. If we didn’t replace it, it would keep falling apart.”
Crutchley said along with being safer, the new plaster will make the pool look better.
“Right now, you can see some discoloration,” he said. “It is going to be so smooth walking on it, and it will look so much cleaner. The wear and tear on your feet will be so much less.”
Crutchley said the play structure is original to the building that opened in 2005.
The play structure is in the pool’s shallow end and has a slide and some water features. Crutchley said the base was replaced about 10 years ago to remove rusted pieces and install stainless steel, but now those pieces are rusting under the water and parts of the structure that are not in the water are rusting.
He said the new structure will be about the same size as the current one, but it will have additional features. He also said the new structure will look like a castle.
Crutchley said the new structure will have two slides, one that has side-by-side slides like the current structure and an additional slide coming from another end. He also said the new structure will have water-spray features and a water cannon.
“I think it will be one of those things that everybody will see it and say, ‘I want to go down and play on it,’” he said of the new play structure. “It is like the new playgrounds we put in (at Arnold City Park in 2024 and Ferd B. Lang Park last year).
“(The new play structure) will be more fun and has more bells and whistles to it. I think it will be a big hit.”
Crutchley said the majority of the new play structure is made with fiberglass material.
“We will not have the corrosion issues,” he said. “That wasn’t an option 20 years ago.”