Capital Campaign

The property tax of $0.77/$1,000, will pay for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the pool far into the future.

The most economical path to the new pool is to complete all of the new construction over the same time period. This will greatly shorten the time that the pool will be unavailable to the community and avoid many of the increased costs due to inflation and repeated construction contracts.

In May of 2017, the citizens voted to establish the Greater Toledo Pool Recreation District, ensuring the pool continues to serve generations for years to come.

Our community values the pool. It is vital to our quality of life, benefitting our children, teenagers, families, and senior citizens.

The District includes rural areas of East Lincoln County including Eddyville and Elk City, will beyond the Toledo city limits. Many citizens from the wider District use and depend on the pool for its recreation, health and fitness benefits.

Public Safety | Through lifesaving swim lessons, fire fighter and law enforcement water rescue training, and lifeguard training.

Recreation | For kids and families, one of the best activities families can do together.

Therapeutic Exercise | For seniors, children, and adults with limited mobility or other special needs.

Health & Wellness Benefits | From exercise classes and lap swimming.

Swim Lessons | For elementary schools and Head Start, summer sessions and individuals.

Swim Teams | Providing Training and a practice location for the High School Swim Team and sponsoring a summer and afterschool Youth Swim Club.

Venue | For special events and community meetings.

Plans for New Toledo Swimming Pool Continue to Progress

Lincoln County Leader By Steve Card/ Editor

There are still some major details to be sorted out, but plans for a new swimming pool in Toledo continue to move forward, with construction possibly beginning toward the end of this year. The current five-lane, 25-yard pool opened in 1948 as an outdoor pool. It was covered in the 1960s and has operated as a city pool since its inception. The pool was initially part of a public works project designed to enhance local infrastructure and provide a safe place for swimming and aquatic activities. Over the decades, it became a beloved institution, serving as a venue for swimming lessons, competitive swim meets, fitness classes, and family recreation.

By the 2010s, however, the aging facility faced significant challenges. Years of wear and tear, along with escalating maintenance costs, placed the pool’s future in jeopardy. Despite its importance to the community, funding became increasingly difficult to secure, raising concerns about a potential closure. In response, residents of Toledo and the surrounding areas rallied to save the pool. Through grassroots organizing and public advocacy, they formed the Greater Toledo Pool Recreation District. In 2017, voters approved the creation of this special tax district to provide sustainable funding for the pool’s operation and maintenance. This district encompasses Toledo and parts of the surrounding Lincoln County area. The transfer of the pool from the city to the district occurred on March 1, 2018.

The district is now focused on replacing the old pool, and $3 million in lottery funds were secured to help cover the cost of that project. Roy Kinion is the president of the pool district’s board of directors, and he spoke with the Lincoln County Leader last week regarding the plans for a new pool. He said the district has had discussions with the Toledo City Council about a possible partnership on this project. The thought was to have two community rooms attached to the swimming pool building with the idea that the city could use these rooms, and the pool district would provide the infrastructure, such as the restrooms, to support their use.

Kinion said the pool district was supposed to meet with the city council last week to discuss the possible financial contribution to the pool project and an intergovernmental agreement. “But we were told that because they do not currently have a city manager that they weren’t able to meet,” he said. There is still support from some council members to move forward with an agreement, “but it may still fall completely apart. In that case, we’re prepared to downsize the project and go forward.” Even if the city decides it doesn’t want to pursue the idea of the community rooms, “we’re going to pull it off. It’s just a matter of what we end up with,” Kinion said.

There are a few upgrades that are planned to what the pool currently offers. “As of right now, our desire is to add another lane, so a six-lane pool,” Kinion said. “And it’s going to be deeper. Right now there’s a lot of restrictions on what we can use that pool for because of the depth of the pool. We could no longer use the diving board because the pool wasn’t deep enough. The diving board hasn’t been used in years.” Also, there are plans for a zero entry into the pool. “There will be a little stub out in the shallow end that kind of steps into the water. It can be used for swim lessons for toddlers, it can be used for the elderly, that kind of thing. You’re able to step down into the water,” he said.

The bottom line, Kinion said, is to provide area residents with a new, fully functioning pool. “When it comes down to it, we’re really looking at improvements in some areas, but basically it being just a really new version of what we currently have — in a tank that doesn’t leak, and a roof that doesn’t leak and a water-recycling system that actually recycles water. I mean it goes on and on and on.”

As far as the timeframe for construction, Kinion said, “we were hoping to actually start to tear down the existing structure next winter. But there’s a lot that has to be done before that can happen, and we’re not going to close the facility until we have all our ducks in a row because once it closes, it won’t be re-opened until the project is complete. That could easily take a year.” And he expects to see a considerable increase in usage once the new pool opens.

“It does get used now, but we’ve been told that we can expect an increase of threefold in users of the new pool,” Kinion said. “It’s just one of those things. People like to be part of something that’s new and shiny. Back in the day when I was a kid, that place was packed all the time. That was my first real job, working as a lifeguard at that swimming pool.”