SPAR Board Keeps Circle Pool Closed for 2022: Petition Started

During their March 15 meeting, the Sulphur Parks and Recreation board discussed the upcoming Summer season. Some of those topics included the pay scale for employees of the parks, pool chemical purchases, and continued hurricane repairs from Laura and Delta.

Another item they discussed that has Sulphur locals a bit upset is the decision to not open the Center Circle Pool. As word spread, locals began to voice their opinion on why the board is not opening the pool. Some rumors even began that the pool was closing permanently. It was open for the 2021 season, but this year it will indeed remain closed.

That news hasn't been settling well with the residents, so they have started a petition to let the SPAR Board know that they indeed want the pool to re-open for the 2022 season. The question is, why did the board decide to keep the Center Circle Pool closed for this year when it was open last year?

A quick little Googling lead me to the meeting notes and agenda from the SPAR board meeting for March 15. In there, you see their decisions about budgeting, ongoing repairs to the various parks, and the upcoming sports schedules for the baseball and softball fields. Also in there on line seven in the agenda, the subject of the Center Circle Pool.

The staff recommends that the Center Circle Pool not open for the 2022 season due [to] the major structural damages sustained from Hurricane(s) Laura/Delta.

They didn't stop there with their reasoning for making this decision. They went on to discuss the recent evaluation done by a structural engineer firm that found that the building should be demolished. Last year, they were able to bring in temp showers, restrooms, and a trailer for tickets to the pool.

SPAR Operated for the 2021 season using temporary ticket trailer, restrooms, and showers, but proved to be problematic to maintain, expensive rentals, and low attendance/revenue.

Well, now that makes a smidge more sense than just shutting it down for no reason. The extra cost to open the pool versus the revenue that came in would certainly make anyone take a step back and re-evaluate the situation. Some comments from residents in the area that use the pool said they prefer the Circle pool because they have kids that are sensitive to too much stimulation that the other water park has and can cause some issues.

The petition has been active on Change.org for four days and has close to 940 signatures. The SPAR Water Park will be opened and operating as normal.