Roy Complex to get new boiler, rec center pool upgrade plans edge ahead
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- The empty pool at the Roy Recreation Complex, photographed Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. The pool has been closed since May 2022 due to a faulty boiler and the Roy City Council approved funding to replace it on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023.
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- Patrons at the Roy Recreation Complex play pickleball on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.
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- The outside of the Roy Recreation Complex, photographed Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. The pool at the complex has been closed since May 2022 due to a faulty boiler and the Roy City Council approved funding to replace it on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023.
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- Patrons at the Roy Recreation Complex play pickleball on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.
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- The empty pool at the Roy Recreation Complex, photographed Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. The pool has been closed since May 2022 due to a faulty boiler and the Roy City Council approved funding to replace it on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023.
ROY — Efforts to reopen the indoor pool at the city-owned Roy Recreation Complex are edging ahead.
Eight months after it closed late last May due to problems with the aging boiler used to heat it — sparking cries of concern from users — the Roy City Council has picked a company to replace the system, a fix that’ll cost $468,391. Grander upgrade plans that could cost $1.5 million in all are afoot at the rec center, though, and the boiler fix — which got the green light from the City Council last week — could necessitate the temporary closure of the entire facility to accommodate the work.
“We’re going to try to minimize (the closure) as much as we can,” said Travis Flint, deputy director of the Roy Parks and Recreation Department. The rec center — still getting heavy use though the pool is drained and closed — also houses basketball and pickleball courts, an elevated track, a weight room and a studio for yoga and other exercise classes.
Mayor Bob Dandoy is hoping installation of the boiler and other swimming pool fixes can be completed by the middle of the year, though improvements to the locker rooms and other proposed upgrades may take longer. Water to the entire recreation complex — which typically drew 105,000 visitors a year before the COVID-19 pandemic — would have to be turned off to install the boiler, necessitating the facility’s temporary closure.
“Hopefully sometime in July we can have a grand opening (for the pool) and bring the facility back up,” Dandoy said. The rec complex sits at 2150 W. 4700 South near Roy High School, which has traditionally used the pool for swim team practices.
However, the pool cavity needs new plastering and the deck around it also needs major fixes, costing perhaps another $450,000, and city leaders still have to sign off on those proposed improvements. Dandoy would like to see the additional pool work completed in tandem with the boiler replacement, though the funding remains a point of deliberation.
“We’ve been putting this off way too long,” Dandoy said.
The pool closure prompted a strong outpouring last year among its many users, who clamored to maintain the facility. It also spurred a fundraising effort to help generate funds from the public to help cover the cost of the improvements, also entailing plumbing upgrades, locker room improvements and more.
As of Monday, the public fundraising effort had generated $177,254. City officials are also talking about pitching in more money.