Tentative opening date set for new Quincy Aquatic Center

QUINCY — Not only a new swimming pool but a new splash pad will be coming to Quincy this summer. Russ Harrington, Quincy parks and recreation director, said there are tentative opening dates for the new Quincy Aquatic Center and the park that includes the splash pad, although it may not be ready at the same time as the park.

“We’re getting close,” Harrington said.

The splash pad is one of the amenities in the new park at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and E Street Northeast. The park’s playground toys have been installed; Harrington said ground cover is the last piece for those toys, and it’s scheduled for installation within the next few days. The playground toys should be ready for use by June 1.

The splash pad requires inspection by the Washington Department of Health, Harrington said. That may take a little longer.

“There isn’t a lot left to do, but there’s a little bit left to do,” he said.

The splash pad is something entirely new for Quincy; previously the land was an undeveloped lot. Quincy has had a pool for a half-century or more, but it’s getting a completely new one. The planned date for opening is June 26-28.

Harrington emphasized that’s the target, but a target is all it is right now.

“We don’t have a hard and fast opening date,” he said.

There is still some work to be done on the pool, Harrington said, but getting the pool finished is only half the job. A new pool requires training for new lifeguards and retraining for experienced ones.

“We’ve got to train almost 30 new lifeguards,” Harrington said. “There’s a lot that’s going to be packed into the next five weeks.”

About 35-45 lifeguards will be needed for a full staff, he said.

Swimming lessons are tentatively scheduled to begin July 6. Signups for lessons will be open sometime in the next two weeks.

Construction of the pool follows the establishment of the Quincy Valley Regional Parks District, which has the same boundaries as the Quincy School District minus the Douglas County portion. The district also will own and operate the indoor arena known as the QPlex. That’s still in the design phase.

Chervenell Construction, Kennewick, was awarded a $15.7 million contract for pool construction.

The new pool design features a separate lap pool and water slide array. The lap pool will have a one-meter diving board, a rope swing and a climbing wall.

Three water slides have been installed, two that are 220 feet long and another that’s 190. One of the 220-foot slides is enclosed. They do not empty into the pool.

There’s a 48-inch height limit on the slides, and it will be strictly enforced, Harrington said.

“These are way different slides than the ones we’ve had in the past,” he said.

The zero-depth end of the pool has an elaborate toy for children who don’t make the height limit, with a triple slide, water spray features, water toys and a big bucket dumping water periodically.

“Everything is going to be fun in there,” Harrington said.

    The new Quincy Aquatic Center will have an entirely new set of waterslides.