Santa Fe city officials announced the reopening of the Bicentennial Pool, which had been closed for renovations of the Tot Pool that began this spring, an investment that will ensure the swimming pool can last in the community for the next 30 to 40 years.
With the reopening of the pool, swimming lessons will now be offered for children of all ages through August, according to a report by the Santa Fe New Mexican, with the pool now open from 6 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on weekends. The pool is closed on Mondays, according to the news outlet.
"It was a great capital investment by the city to ensure that we have an outdoor swimming facility that will serve the community into the next 30 or 40 years,” Community Services director Maria Sanchez-Tucker said in the New Mexican report.
Officials noted the work is the first renovation made to the outdoor facility since it opened more than 45 years ago, according to Yahoo News. The work carried a price tag of $2.3 million, according to the media outlet, and included work on the lap pool, a new reck, lifeguard chairs and a slide. The pool closed last year amid a need for maintenance work, the published reports added.
“It's an older swimming pool, and it's been operational since the probably the late '70s,” Sanchez-Tucker said in the New Mexican report.
The facility also received upgrades to water-saving fixtures, lighting as well as repairs for leaks and the addition of a solar carport to provide up to 80% of the pool’s power, the news outlet reported.
They also noted the improvements will lead to savings of more than $24,000 and 76,000 gallons of water annually.
“It just needed some upgrades to modernize it and to make it sustainable for the future,” Sanchez-Tucker concluded.
