May 20, 2025 • 11 mins
A ribbon cutting has been scheduled for June 27th for the new Lima Community Aquatic Park. Lima's Public Works Director Amy Harpster and Ken Cobb from Sports Facilities Management to talk about the pending opening of the new pool.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And speaking of projects, it is our weekly City of
Lima segment and the big project for the last couple
of years. One of them has been the new pool,
or the Lima Community Aquatic Park as they call it officially,
and we're going to talk about that as the opening nears.
Amy Harpster, the director of Public Works for the city,
(00:22):
is with us as well as Ken cobby Is, the
VP of Aquatics Sports Facilities Management. They are going to
I guess run the pool. For lack of a better explanation, folks,
appreciate you coming in.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Good morning, Good morning Todd. Thank you for having us well.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Amy, let's start with the first of all, the long
process here of making a new pool. First the decision
to close down schoon Over and then the community input
and the planning and the construction. It's all finally going
to come to a head. So that's got to be
a rewarding right Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It's a labor of love and there's a lot of
work that goes on behind the scenes that people don't
even see, and hopefully we make it look easy. The
construction of the Lima Community Aquatic Park is nearly complete
and we're preparing for the summer opening. The facility is
located at one thousand and five East Elm Street, just
(01:23):
east of the Lima Stadium Park. The aquatic park will
offer athletic, instructural, instructional recreational aquatic activities for all the
residents of all ages. It will be a place where
the kids can learn to swim, local teams can train,
families can spend and friends can spend quality time together.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Well, let's talk about some of the I guess features
or some of the highlights of the aquatic park that
we will see here very soon when it's open to
the public. We'll get to that here a little bit.
Talk about the features if you will.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Oh, absolutely, we're excited about The park features a multi
purpose pool with an enclosure that is retractable sides and roof,
which means we can use it a year round. The
poolhouse with lockers rooms and party event room for those
that would like to have parties at that location. Outdoor
activity pool for recreational water play, twenty foot tall body
(02:28):
slide something fun, and concessions, auxiliary restrooms. We will have
shade structures, perimeter fencing, landscaping to create a unique town
square aquatic park area for people to enjoy, build relations
and have fun.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
That's interesting you say the shaded areas. That's something we
kind of forget about till we get to the pool
and there's no shade, right, absolutely, Yeah, Well that's good
to hear. I guess we can't quite narrow down the
opening day just yet because there have to be some inspections.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
That's correct. There's multiple inspections that have to occur, and
the State of Ohio Health Department does inspections. We are
going to have the official ribbon cutting ceremony of Friday,
June twenty seventh, at ten am, and then shortly thereafter
(03:28):
when the inspections are completed. As soon as they're all completed,
we will be opening have a grand opening.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I'm not trying to hold you to an exact date,
but what's your most optimistic estimate to open and what's
your most pessimistic Well, give me a window.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Well, we like to reframe from that because we don't
want folks to get their hopes up high. But I
think when you see fireworks, it'd be nice to be
sometime around that time period.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Well, let's hope the state gets in gear and gets
all those inspections. Done. Maybe, well, let's bring in Ken
ken Coves here he is with the sports facilities management
and Ken, this is like your guys existence running pools
and facilities like this, right.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Yeah, it is. And thanks for inviting me in, Todd.
We are certainly proud to partner with the City of
Lima and bring our twenty plus years experience of managing
facilities all over the country.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
And just from the eye test and being at the
pool and such, what's your initial read on this facility
as far as the you know, comparing it to other
places around the country and how you think it'll fit
in the community here.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Well, it's a beautiful it's going to be a beautiful
water park. And you know to have both an indoor
and outdoor facility and all the amenities. Oh, you have
an outdoor recreation activity pool for you know, the families
in the summer, and then you have the indoor competition
(05:09):
pool to be able to hold all of your programs
of course, but be there for the swim teams. Not
all facilities really have that combination of amenities.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Now, when we talk about what you guys do with
a sports facilities management running the pool per se, that
means you guys are the managers on a day to
day basis. In other words, you'll have set the hours
and have the employees or how's this going to work?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Yeah? We we completely manage the entire operations, you know,
from hiring the staff, managing the staff, creating the programming,
you know, following through with all the operations, taking care
of the technical aspects and the maintenance of the facility
as well.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Gotcha, And do we know yet how you want to
set the operation of the hours that you want to have,
assuming that it gets open to here in the summer.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, we You know, we have both the indoor and
the outdoor pools, So the indoor pools from July through December,
so the remaining part of twenty twenty five, we have
set the hours. So Monday through Friday, you know, the
indoor pool is going to open pretty early at six
am and stay open all day till about eight pm.
(06:25):
And that's for your early morning lap swimmers and the
folks that want to come and enjoy it, whether they're
retired or they want to get some laps in before
before work. And then Saturday nine am to six pm
and Sunday a little bit later for those church goers
eleven am to six pm. That's for the indoor pool, Todd,
(06:47):
and then the outdoor pool is going to be Monday
through Saturday opening at nine am, closing at seven pm,
and then Sunday opening a little bit later eleven am
to six.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Of course, the outdoor pool depends on the summer weather,
so this year we're knocking on wood for about July
fourth to open. But when would you generally close the
outdoor pool. I suppose it could vary by a week
or two, right.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Yes, it does vary depending upon the weather, but typically
it's a Memorial Day to Labor Day kind of season
for the outdoor pool.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Do we have an idea what you might be charging
for admission and such yet?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Yes, those prices are agreed to and the city's approved.
Those for the small children up to three years old,
there's no charge. For children from three to twelve is
going to be three dollars, and these are daily passes,
and then the teens are five dollars. And let's see,
(07:55):
the adults are five dollars. Seniors are going to be
at a discount Todd of three dollars, and then family
of four daily pass is going to be ten dollars,
and if you have more than four in your family,
it's a three dollars add on to that. So these
are very affordable prices for the community.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Looks like you might have the option for a family
package pass kind of thing, right, Yeah, for.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Both the season and you can buy an annual pass.
So if you buy an annual pass, it's obviously year round.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Gotcha. And you said you're taking care of the hiring,
so I would imagine you're scouring right now. Right we are.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
We're currently hiring full time and part time positions, from
lifeguards to guest services, to food and beverage concessions workers.
This is a great opportunity, todd for young people, for retirees,
anyone who wants to be part of something really special.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Well, I hope you're successful and finding some workers because
that can be a challenge. And today's set up, Amy,
I want to turn back to you. Amy Harster is
the director of public Works for the city. And always
when you have a project like this, I think of
this is all great. Where we're going to be in
ten or fifteen years. We can't have this place falling
(09:21):
apart already. So that's been talked about extensively. I guess
expand on that or talk about the long term planning,
especially generating the money needed to keep this up right.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Absolutely, Tom, the construction was fully funded and we've taken
careful steps to ensure that the park remains vibrant and
well maintained for years to come, which means we have
a lot of personal donor sponsors that have not only
vocally supported us, but where it counts, the money to
(09:56):
support long term maintenance stewardship of the facility to keep
it FIREFRNT for the whole community. The Make Us Splash
Endowment campaign has already raised over four million towards its
five million dollar goal, and this is helping ensure the
ongoing programming and accessibility. And I have to say we
(10:21):
are really grateful to the individuals and organizations who rallied
behind the vision, and we like to invite others to
do the same. I was talking to someone yesterday at
the Council media and then they were saying, I'm donating
in honor of my kids for their birthday. You know,
people that don't need anything, I'm doing this in recognition
(10:45):
of them to help the community. So we invite folks
to make us splash Lima dot org if you would
like to visit that and resources. We will have updates
and information at visit Lima, Ohio dot gov and on
our city Facebook City Alma Government. We will also have
(11:08):
a website and a social media page that will be
launched soon Lima Aquaticpark dot com. So we're excited.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
The socials will probably just be Lima Aquatic Park when
we get those done. So yes, yeah, that's a good
way to communicate with the public in a timely manner
and it hopefully is going to be great. We think
it will be, and it's going to be a boon
for the community and what it's been five years since
the last season of scoon Over or four years, whatever
(11:39):
it's been. It's been long enough and it's about to
be replaced with the new Lima Aquatic Park. Appreciate you
guys coming in Ken good to meet you, Amy, thanks
for coming in.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yes, thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Awesome We look forward to that with the new pool
opening soon again. The ribbon cutting will be Friday, June
twenty seventh,
And speaking of projects, it is our weekly City of
Lima segment and the big project for the last couple
of years. One of them has been the new pool,
or the Lima Community Aquatic Park as they call it officially,
and we're going to talk about that as the opening nears.
Amy Harpster, the director of Public Works for the city,
(00:22):
is with us as well as Ken cobby Is, the
VP of Aquatics Sports Facilities Management. They are going to
I guess run the pool. For lack of a better explanation, folks,
appreciate you coming in.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Good morning, Good morning Todd. Thank you for having us well.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Amy, let's start with the first of all, the long
process here of making a new pool. First the decision
to close down schoon Over and then the community input
and the planning and the construction. It's all finally going
to come to a head. So that's got to be
a rewarding right Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
It's a labor of love and there's a lot of
work that goes on behind the scenes that people don't
even see, and hopefully we make it look easy. The
construction of the Lima Community Aquatic Park is nearly complete
and we're preparing for the summer opening. The facility is
located at one thousand and five East Elm Street, just
(01:23):
east of the Lima Stadium Park. The aquatic park will
offer athletic, instructural, instructional recreational aquatic activities for all the
residents of all ages. It will be a place where
the kids can learn to swim, local teams can train,
families can spend and friends can spend quality time together.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Well, let's talk about some of the I guess features
or some of the highlights of the aquatic park that
we will see here very soon when it's open to
the public. We'll get to that here a little bit.
Talk about the features if you will.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Oh, absolutely, we're excited about The park features a multi
purpose pool with an enclosure that is retractable sides and roof,
which means we can use it a year round. The
poolhouse with lockers rooms and party event room for those
that would like to have parties at that location. Outdoor
activity pool for recreational water play, twenty foot tall body
(02:28):
slide something fun, and concessions, auxiliary restrooms. We will have
shade structures, perimeter fencing, landscaping to create a unique town
square aquatic park area for people to enjoy, build relations
and have fun.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
That's interesting you say the shaded areas. That's something we
kind of forget about till we get to the pool
and there's no shade, right, absolutely, Yeah, Well that's good
to hear. I guess we can't quite narrow down the
opening day just yet because there have to be some inspections.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
That's correct. There's multiple inspections that have to occur, and
the State of Ohio Health Department does inspections. We are
going to have the official ribbon cutting ceremony of Friday,
June twenty seventh, at ten am, and then shortly thereafter
(03:28):
when the inspections are completed. As soon as they're all completed,
we will be opening have a grand opening.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I'm not trying to hold you to an exact date,
but what's your most optimistic estimate to open and what's
your most pessimistic Well, give me a window.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Well, we like to reframe from that because we don't
want folks to get their hopes up high. But I
think when you see fireworks, it'd be nice to be
sometime around that time period.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Well, let's hope the state gets in gear and gets
all those inspections. Done. Maybe, well, let's bring in Ken
ken Coves here he is with the sports facilities management
and Ken, this is like your guys existence running pools
and facilities like this, right.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Yeah, it is. And thanks for inviting me in, Todd.
We are certainly proud to partner with the City of
Lima and bring our twenty plus years experience of managing
facilities all over the country.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
And just from the eye test and being at the
pool and such, what's your initial read on this facility
as far as the you know, comparing it to other
places around the country and how you think it'll fit
in the community here.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Well, it's a beautiful it's going to be a beautiful
water park. And you know to have both an indoor
and outdoor facility and all the amenities. Oh, you have
an outdoor recreation activity pool for you know, the families
in the summer, and then you have the indoor competition
(05:09):
pool to be able to hold all of your programs
of course, but be there for the swim teams. Not
all facilities really have that combination of amenities.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Now, when we talk about what you guys do with
a sports facilities management running the pool per se, that
means you guys are the managers on a day to
day basis. In other words, you'll have set the hours
and have the employees or how's this going to work?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Yeah? We we completely manage the entire operations, you know,
from hiring the staff, managing the staff, creating the programming,
you know, following through with all the operations, taking care
of the technical aspects and the maintenance of the facility
as well.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Gotcha, And do we know yet how you want to
set the operation of the hours that you want to have,
assuming that it gets open to here in the summer.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, we You know, we have both the indoor and
the outdoor pools, So the indoor pools from July through December,
so the remaining part of twenty twenty five, we have
set the hours. So Monday through Friday, you know, the
indoor pool is going to open pretty early at six
am and stay open all day till about eight pm.
(06:25):
And that's for your early morning lap swimmers and the
folks that want to come and enjoy it, whether they're
retired or they want to get some laps in before
before work. And then Saturday nine am to six pm
and Sunday a little bit later for those church goers
eleven am to six pm. That's for the indoor pool, Todd,
(06:47):
and then the outdoor pool is going to be Monday
through Saturday opening at nine am, closing at seven pm,
and then Sunday opening a little bit later eleven am
to six.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Of course, the outdoor pool depends on the summer weather,
so this year we're knocking on wood for about July
fourth to open. But when would you generally close the
outdoor pool. I suppose it could vary by a week
or two, right.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Yes, it does vary depending upon the weather, but typically
it's a Memorial Day to Labor Day kind of season
for the outdoor pool.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Do we have an idea what you might be charging
for admission and such yet?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Yes, those prices are agreed to and the city's approved.
Those for the small children up to three years old,
there's no charge. For children from three to twelve is
going to be three dollars, and these are daily passes,
and then the teens are five dollars. And let's see,
(07:55):
the adults are five dollars. Seniors are going to be
at a discount Todd of three dollars, and then family
of four daily pass is going to be ten dollars,
and if you have more than four in your family,
it's a three dollars add on to that. So these
are very affordable prices for the community.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Looks like you might have the option for a family
package pass kind of thing, right, Yeah, for.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Both the season and you can buy an annual pass.
So if you buy an annual pass, it's obviously year round.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Gotcha. And you said you're taking care of the hiring,
so I would imagine you're scouring right now. Right we are.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
We're currently hiring full time and part time positions, from
lifeguards to guest services, to food and beverage concessions workers.
This is a great opportunity, todd for young people, for retirees,
anyone who wants to be part of something really special.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Well, I hope you're successful and finding some workers because
that can be a challenge. And today's set up, Amy,
I want to turn back to you. Amy Harster is
the director of public Works for the city. And always
when you have a project like this, I think of
this is all great. Where we're going to be in
ten or fifteen years. We can't have this place falling
(09:21):
apart already. So that's been talked about extensively. I guess
expand on that or talk about the long term planning,
especially generating the money needed to keep this up right.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Absolutely, Tom, the construction was fully funded and we've taken
careful steps to ensure that the park remains vibrant and
well maintained for years to come, which means we have
a lot of personal donor sponsors that have not only
vocally supported us, but where it counts, the money to
(09:56):
support long term maintenance stewardship of the facility to keep
it FIREFRNT for the whole community. The Make Us Splash
Endowment campaign has already raised over four million towards its
five million dollar goal, and this is helping ensure the
ongoing programming and accessibility. And I have to say we
(10:21):
are really grateful to the individuals and organizations who rallied
behind the vision, and we like to invite others to
do the same. I was talking to someone yesterday at
the Council media and then they were saying, I'm donating
in honor of my kids for their birthday. You know,
people that don't need anything, I'm doing this in recognition
(10:45):
of them to help the community. So we invite folks
to make us splash Lima dot org if you would
like to visit that and resources. We will have updates
and information at visit Lima, Ohio dot gov and on
our city Facebook City Alma Government. We will also have
(11:08):
a website and a social media page that will be
launched soon Lima Aquaticpark dot com. So we're excited.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
The socials will probably just be Lima Aquatic Park when
we get those done. So yes, yeah, that's a good
way to communicate with the public in a timely manner
and it hopefully is going to be great. We think
it will be, and it's going to be a boon
for the community and what it's been five years since
the last season of scoon Over or four years, whatever
(11:39):
it's been. It's been long enough and it's about to
be replaced with the new Lima Aquatic Park. Appreciate you
guys coming in Ken good to meet you, Amy, thanks
for coming in.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yes, thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Awesome We look forward to that with the new pool
opening soon again. The ribbon cutting will be Friday, June
twenty seventh,
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