Long-awaited aquatic center opens in Jackson
Bill Davis photo
After years of work on the project and more than a decade of planning and advocacy, the new aquatic center in Jackson County is officially open to patrons.
“Today is a momentous day for Jackson County as we gather to celebrate the grand opening of the new aquatic center,” said Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hopkins at the aquatic center’s grand opening on Saturday, Jan. 25.
While the Parks and Recreation Department held a week-long soft opening earlier this month to help train staff, and the Smoky Mountain High School swim team has had access to the new facility since mid-December, now, the aquatic center is open to all.
“It’s been probably four boards, so you’re talking eight to 10 years, a decade of work from communications, from initial concepts to getting engineering to getting plans to breaking ground and finally opening up the facility to enjoy,” said Jackson County Commission Chairman Mark Letson.
Saturday marked the official opening day with normal hours, and the facility saw over 350 visitors to the pool.
“We’ve had a lot of good feedback,” said Hopkins.
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In 2020, Jackson County residents approved a referendum that allowed the county to borrow $20 million for the project. That vote was the culmination of years of planning and discussion. During a survey in a 2013 recreation master plan update, 86.4% of respondents said that a centrally located swimming pool was “important” or “very important,” and a follow-up survey in 2019 showed 68% of respondents saying that they’d support construction of an aquatic center even if it meant raising taxes.
“It’s a huge thanks to the citizens of Jackson County and also the support that we’ve had from the former county commissioners, county managers; it’s just a big thank you, and now you guys can take advantage of such a beautiful facility that we have in Jackson County,” Hopkins said.
The aquatic center was added to the existing Jackson County Recreation Center. There are two primary pools, a six-lane competition pool with a climbing wall and a recreation pool where families and kids can play. Both pools have handicapped access.
Community members gather for the aquatic center grand opening. Bill Davis photo
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Hopkins. “This is something that’s been talked about for the last 25-plus years. So, to have a facility of this caliber in Jackson County and Western North Carolina, it’s a dream come true for these folks.”
Maintaining regular hours of operation will be dependent on lifeguard staffing. At the Jan. 7 county commission meeting, Hopkins requested more full-time positions for the aquatic center.
“Obviously we’ve built a $20 million facility; we want to try to keep that open as much as possible,” Hopkins told commissioners. “The sustainability of trying to keep 45 part-time lifeguards around, that’s going to be extremely tough to keep that number year around, keep them happy, keep them with the hours they want.”
Hopkins said that administration has had difficult staffing not only weekends and afternoons, but also the 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. time slots.
“We do have a few retired folks, but the majority of our guards are high school and college students, and we have to work within their schedule,” Hopkins said.
Patrons enjoy the leisure pool. Bill Davis photo
Rather than taking on 45 part-time guard positions, Hopkins requested an additional five full-time positions for the aquatic center. He told the board he would reduce the number of available part-time positions in order to keep budget expenditures the same, despite the change in staffing category.
“Basically, we’ve got as many [part-time] people as we can get, so he’s come up with an option that I would definitely support and recommend that we look at,” County Manager Kevin King told the board Jan. 7. “It’s not increasing the budget total at all for the aquatic center, but it’s increasing the amount of full-time positions versus part-time positions.”
The board approved the staffing request at its Jan. 21 meeting.
Head Lifeguard Anthony McDowell worked at the Sylva pool for three years prior to taking the head guard position at the new aquatic center.
Bill Davis photo
“You can go play in the recreation pool, we have a whirlpool, we have locker rooms with saunas, we also have the gym here, so it’s a little bit of everything,” McDowell said. “People love it. They’re glad that we finally have it and it’s open and they can swim during the winter instead of having to drive a far distance.”
Maggie Ashley is board president of the Jackson County swim team. Her seven-year-old daughter Elizabeth is in her third year of competitive swimming and cut the ribbon to officially open the new pool.
“Our families and our swimmers have really been looking forward to this,” said Ashley. “We’ve worked with the rec center for years swimming at the outside Sylva pool, we’ve swum at the Western Carolina University Reid Pool, and we’re growing. And that’s really exciting to have that growth here and the sport of swimming in Jackson County, so we’re thrilled that we’ve got this beautiful new space and that we’ll have more opportunities for all of our swimmers to grow.”
The new facility will have opportunities for water volleyball, basketball, water aerobics classes and swim lessons, in addition to the swim teams for youth and adults.
The facility is open to residents of Jackson County and visitors from other counties, with membership rates varying by residency, which can be purchased as individuals or as families. There are also special rates for senior citizens, students, veterans and first responders.
