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Pools at Durango Community Recreation Center to close Sunday through end of the month for repairs

20-year-old castle-themed water jungle gym goes out to bid
Swimmers do their rounds Tuesday at Durango Community Recreation Center’s lap pool ahead of its planned closure Sunday through the end of October for resurfacing of the plaster that lines its floor. The original plaster was applied 21 years ago and is showing signs of wear, chipping off here and there, said Kimmi Jaycox, assistant recreation director. (Christian Burney/Durango Herald)

The Durango Community Recreation Center’s lap pool will be closed from Sunday through the end of October for a much-needed face-lift. The plaster surfacing that coats the bottom of the pool is starting to chip away after being installed 21 years ago.

October is when the rec center typically closes for a single week of maintenance across the facility, but the pool and aquatics area will be closed for a longer period this year because of the need to drain it, remove the old surfacing and replace it with new plaster, said Kelli Jaycox, assistant recreation director.

She said the lap pool’s concrete frame is visible through cracks in the plaster.

“Big chunks are coming off. If you came and looked at the pool right now you’d see the big, gray area, the concrete underneath the surfacing. That’s going to be redone,” she said.

The resurfacing project will cost about $250,000, but the new plaster is expected to last another two decades or so, she said.

The recreation center resurfaced its leisure pool back in 2017, which has served the pool well since. But the leisure pool is also receiving an update in the form of new children’s play equipment and water toys.

The Durango Community Recreation Center has placed its castle-themed water play equipment in its leisure pool up for bid starting at $1 on govdeals.com. The 20-year-old equipment castle will be replaced by a new water jungle gym. (Christian Burney/Durango Herald)

A 20-year-old castle-themed jungle gym has worn out its welcome and has gone out to bid, Jaycox said. It was put up on offer at govdeals.com starting at just $1.

“(The castle’s) flooring is pretty much worn down completely right now,” she said.

Water pipes underneath the structure are also worn. She said the chlorine eventually breaks down the plastic materials that compose the castle.

Some families are bummed to see the castle going away, but new equipment will take its place, she said.

The new play structure won’t be themed like the castle was, but it will have water dumping buckets and other features, similar to the castle. It will replace other play equipment at the leisure pool, too, including defunct water cannons and hand-crank water spouts that barely produce a drizzle these days, she said.

The new play structure will cost $177,792, including the equipment and installation, she said.

The facility-wide closure for regular maintenance is scheduled for Oct. 16 through Oct. 22.

cburney@durangoherald.com



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