Danville City Engineer Sam Cole says if you stop by Garfield Park now and look at the new pool project being paid for by COVID relief money, you’ll notice that the old pool house and filter building are gone, with only a shell of a pool remaining. Cole recently told Laura Williams on 1490 WDAN’s Community Connection program that when the new pool opens, hopefully on Memorial Day Weekend of 2024, lots of differences will certainly be noticed, starting with the planned slides.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: Three slides that kind of twist around each other. I want to say it’s 26 feet to the platform where the slide starts. So, 26 feet in the air, and there will be a separate pool where that will plunge into. A brand new pool deck; the bathhouse will get larger. The pool itself is the same footprint, but the amenities are going to be greatly improved there. Honestly, it won’t even look like the same pool. It’s getting new gutters, and a new liner.
Danville City Engineer Sam Cole says that although the bid for the actual Garfield Park project has not yet been awarded, the city is working on retooling the project, including applying for various grants.
As for the complete new look planned for Garfield Park, also being paid for with COVID relief money, Cole says that will be taken care of as well; but at more of a “normal pace” than the originally planned “rapid pace.”
Audio PlayerAUDIO: Because of, you know, issues with bids coming in high; which is the case across the board in everything as we all know; whether that’s your home life, or in the infrastructure world. The park project didn’t get awarded yet, but we are working on retooling that project, applying for grants, doing other things, to keep moving it along. Certainly, the vision hasn’t changed there.
Over $13 million of Danville’s $24.7 million in APRA COVID relief funds are being used for the Garfield Pool and Park project.
To hear all of Laura Williams’ interview with Danville City Engineer Sam Cole, please go to https://vermilioncountyfirst.com/the-community-connection/