TYLER, Texas — Last May, Tyler's Fun Forest Pool was closed for the summer after a massive leak was discovered right before it was set to open.
"Last year, we developed a major leak underground," Tyler Director of Parks and Rec., Russ Jackson said. "More or less it just shut us down our health department wouldn’t allow us to open because we had no filtration at that point. When it shut down we just went to Plan B to redo the pool and redo the splash pad at the same time."
A $3 million construction project to remodel and re-open the pool complex is nearly completed and, according to Jackson, the project includes a new spray ground complex and a smaller swimming pool.
"We’re doing final touch-ups," he said. "The main pool equipment all that’s been installed and now they’re finishing up the pool itself. COVID-19 has delayed some of the products, the assembly lines shut down in the eastern part of the country."
Jackson says their main focus is to get everything up to standards for the Americans with Disabilities Act, with ramps to access the pool and bathrooms.
In addition, the main entrance will now be on the east side of the building.
"The building we looked at it structurally, we didn’t have to tear nothing down so we still have some historical parts here and for many more years to come," Jackson said.
He says the pool should be ready to open soon, but the number of occupants may be limited.
"We are looking at mid-June when we do open up, it’s going to be scaled down from what we anticipated to accommodate what the governor allows us to do, I think it’s around 50 people," he said.
Among the items delayed was a new double shoot water slide which they hope to have in place in July. Jackson says besides the pool there have been a number of other updates including a new soccer field, upgraded lighting, and new bathrooms for the ball fields.