PINE BLUFF -- Plans for a multimillion-dollar aquatics center are being finalized more than four years after Pine Bluff voters approved partial funding for it.
A five-eighths percent sales tax and bond initiative that passed in 2011 allocated about $4.2 million toward the project, and millions more toward others.
Many in Pine Bluff have been unhappy that the building has taken so long to be realized. But Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth said other projects funded by the tax, such as a new fire station and renovations to police and fire department headquarters, took first priority.
Hollingsworth said the city will hold fundraisers to generate the $2 million more that will be needed to complete construction of the $6.2 million aquatics center, though those details have not yet been ironed out.
A committee has been formed and will plan meetings on the topic in coming weeks.
A construction start date has not been set, however.
According to plans drawn up by Nelson Architectural Group of Pine Bluff, the 26,000-square-foot aquatics center will feature two pools, bathrooms, party rooms, changing and locker rooms, a patio, deck and storage space.
A master plan for the aquatics center should be completed in about 45 days, according to architects. Both the aquatics center and a planned multipurpose center are to be constructed on 11th Ave. Money for the multipurpose center will also be raised through donations, along with funds from the sales tax and bond initiatives, according to city officials.
The buildings will sit just a few blocks from the city's Civic Center, which houses City Hall, the main library, and the headquarters for the police and fire departments.
An aquatics center is something many residents in Pine Bluff have been anticipating for years, as there is no public-access pool in the city.
Pine Bluff resident Grover Simms, 70, said his physician advised aquatics therapy for his arthritis, but he has nowhere to swim.
"The sooner they get this built, the better," Simms said. "Taxpayers approved this pool, and it's about time they get going on it. I can see it being beneficial to many people, especially us older folks with health issues."
At Pines Mall late last week, Joann Clark and Rita Blann were eating popcorn as their toddler-aged children played in the indoor playground. Blann said she has been wanting to teach her son to swim for a while and welcomes the idea of a city pool. Clark concurred.
"If you look around Pine Bluff, there isn't a lot to be positive about right now," Clark said. "Especially for kids. It may seem like a small thing to some bigger cities, but this pool and what it will provide for our community really means a lot."
Blann said it will be a "shot in the arm for us all. I remember growing up in St. Louis, we had a city pool in my neighborhood, and it was just all the fun in the world to go there and enjoy fun times with friends and family. I am looking forward to doing that here with my kids."
State Desk on 05/18/2015