Pool work worth the long wait, official says

Project will close Kimbro facility for next 10 months

Somer Breeze-Hanson / Northwest Guardian

For nearly two decades Bill Miller has lobbied for a complete overhaul of Kimbro Pool. It’s been a long-time project for the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Aquatics Coordinator and the timing is finally right for it to happen.

The doors will close on Kimbro Pool Oct. 31 and the following 10 months will be spent giving it a multi-million dollar facelift.

“Unfortunately to do all the cool stuff it has to be closed for 10 months,” Miller said.

But the wait will be well worth it for those who use the recreational pool. Kimbro Pool was built in 1947 and its most recent renovation was in 1991. The walls, ceiling and lights will remain while everything else will be replaced. The plan is to turn the oversized swimming pool into two pools: one will be a standard high school pool for lap swim and the other side will be a zero depth kids pool. There will be a six-foot walkway between the two pools.

The outdoor Splash Park on JBLM is a popular resource for children and Families during the summer months. Kimbro will add its own indoor splash park in the kids pool with fountains, a frog slide and sea animal toys that squirt water.

“The growth rate here has been ridiculous the last five years,” Miller said. “It’s that many more Families, that many more kids. The Spray Park is great for three months out of the year. We’re basically bringing the Spray Park inside.”

The paintings along the walls inside Kimbro Pool depicting ocean life will be torn down. Miller is sad to see the paintings done by one of his lifeguards go, but the new pool and pool deck will be decorated with tile mosaics of sea turtles and other sea creatures.

Those who use Kimbro for lap swim can look forward to a new gutter system.

The gutters were part of the original 1947 pool; when multiple swimmers are in the pool, the gutters fill up causing waves of water to slap swimmers in their faces.

“It’s like swimming in the ocean,” Miller said.

The new pool will feature flush deck gutters. A new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system will replace one that hasn’t been changed out since the 1960s. New filters and heating system also will be added.

“Not only will we have a brand new pool that people see, but we’ll have a brand new pool that people don’t see,” Miller said.

Kimbro Pool is closest to housing and is a popular recreational facility. Of the more than 50 hours of programs offered at Kimbro, only 10 will be lost during the renovation. The recreation schedules are being transferred to Soldier’s Field House Pool and Keeler Pool so the impact will be as small as possible. The afternoon recreation swim is the only program that will be eliminated.

Youth swim lessons, evening recreation swim, scuba diving classes and training for National Guard and the Reserves will all transfer to Keeler Pool, which just finished a six-month renovation in June.

Weekend swimming, pool parties and rentals will transfer to Soldier’s Field House. Kimbro Pool is not scheduled to reopen until September 2012, but Miller hopes it will finish ahead of schedule so as not to miss a summer.

Kimbro Pool was named after Truman Kimbro, a Medal of Honor recipient in World War II.