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Messenger photo by Jim Durban
A crew member from Martin Painting & Coating out of Grove City preps the London municipal pool for concrete patching and painting. |
The London Parks and Recreation Department is sprucing up the municipal pool to the tune of $75,000.
Martin Painting & Coating out of Grove City started the work on March 24. Their first task is to sandblast all five of the pools at the complex, located at 203 Park Ave., including the diving well and the baby, handicap accessible, main, and racing pools.
The next step will be to repair the concrete, which in the main pool and diving well dates back to 1939.
"It’s the original concrete. We’ve been ‘band-aiding’ it for awhile and painting it just about every year. So, the concrete crumbles easily and there’s about 15 coats of paint to get through," said Parks and Recreation Director Ryan Ladd.
The repair work includes careful patching and a coating that comes with a two-year warranty. Research led Ladd to select a paint that has been shown to last eight to 10 years.
"This project will free up time for us from painting and patching to do other projects each spring, like maintenance of our parks and shelters," Ladd said.
Martin Painting & Coating recently has refurbished city pools in Grandview, Groveport and Upper Arlington. They are slated to complete the London project within 45 days.
The money for the project was appropriated in the city’s capital budget. The last time substantial money was spent on the pool, the city installed stainless steel walls in the baby, racing and handicap accessible pools.
"If we want to keep the number of patrons high, we need to make improvements to the facility," Ladd said.
The London pool will open for the sum-mer season on June 6. For more informa-tion about membership and admission fees, lifeguard jobs, and swim lessons, call the Parks and Recreation Department at 740-852-4462.
