Yes, Bonedaleans, it’s true!
After a years-long process (including two seasons without a municipal pool), the brand-new Carbondale Aquatics Center is scheduled to open Saturday, May 23, during Memorial Day weekend. The new facility replaces the old John M. Fleet pool, which operated from 1979 to 2023.
Instead of the former single pool, the center will now have three components: a 25-yard, six-lane lap pool that is 12 feet deep at one end to accommodate a 1-meter diving board; a zero-entry entertainment (or recreation) pool with a toddler shelf and play features; and a hot tub. It is also a marvel in advanced pool-construction technology.
The Sopris Sun met with Eric Brendlinger, Carbondale Parks & Rec. director, and Brian Froelich, the department’s aquatics and health and wellness coordinator, to learn more about what has been accomplished in roughly a decade after it was decided to replace the aging John M. Fleet pool.
After the initial funding was secured through a successful bond issue approved by the electorate in 2022, Brendlinger said that they “made some pretty conscious choices” in 2023 to hire Carbondale-based Land+Shelter Architecture for the design and AD Miller Services, Inc., a Colorado construction company that “had just built a pool very similar” in Denver to lead the building process.
The aquatic center’s final design was approved in early 2024, and work began that June demolishing the old pool. Discussing the construction process, Froelich stated, “I think it more or less went according to plan.” He continued, “We were hoping to be done with [construction] back in October, but things [got] pushed a little bit.” However, this past mild winter “was a blessing for this project,” allowing work to continue and workers to “focus on the little things and not rush through a bunch of the items” to finish the project for this spring’s opening.
Chief among the advanced technology used in construction are six highly efficient “Great Big Bopper” rooftop all-electric, air-sourced heat pumps, which supply hot water for the three pools. Using these without gas-fired heaters as a backup was a leap of faith, but initial concerns whether they would work adequately were allayed when, as Froelich related, during a mid-April cold snap, “They handled keeping [the pools] close to temperature without covering [them] overnight.”
Brendlinger continued, “They work hard to get the pools up to temperature, but then once they’re at temperature,” they shut off and only come on when necessary. But, he noted, “Part of our operations will be, every night, covering these pools with these thermal covers to retain that heat that’s already been produced by these units.” The heat pumps have an added benefit, Froelich explained, because they may allow the center to stay open “beyond the traditional Labor Day” closing, depending on staffing and weather.
The facility sports an extensive array of solar panels on the roof of the new service building (housing changing rooms, offices, mechanical equipment and storage), which are tied into the grid and can generate up to 48 kilowatts. However, Brendlinger said that not enough panels could be installed “to produce a net-zero result, so green-produced energy will need to be purchased off the grid with Xcel [Energy].”
One notable feature of the solar array is the use of bifacial solar panels on the lower side of the southward-facing awning projecting from the service building. These cells generate power by utilizing light reflected upward from the lap pool and deck.
As with pretty much all construction projects planned before COVID, costs subsequently ballooned from an initial estimate of $7 million to a final total of about $13.4 million. The first $8 million was covered by the 2022 bond approval, and the Town added close to another
$2 million from contingency funds.
To raise the final $3.5 million, the “Make a Splash” fundraising campaign was launched in June 2024, which, Brendlinger noted, was “The first capital campaign for Carbondale” with a previous bond approval. And it was a success, raising $3.1 million — roughly half from grants and half from private donations; the final amount needed was again acquired from the Town’s contingency funds.
The success of the campaign allowed the Town to “build what we wanted,” as Brendlinger put it, which, with “three bodies of water” will now provide “different experiences than what was offered before.” He continued, “The way we designed it was for all ages,” with “simultaneous use. This is for everybody.”
The center will host an open house on May 21 for donors who gave $1,000 or more to the campaign, with the doors opening to everybody two days later.
Information on the aquatics center, including passes (note the early-bird pricing) can be found at carbondalerec.com/aquatics
