SUNNIER POOL READY TO OPEN UNDER NEW BUBBLE

Users will find a different look at Central Municipal Swimming Pool when they return this weekend.

School and city officials said workers are completing installation of a new bubble over the pool at 205 Caruthers. The pool will reopen to the public Saturday after the water is fully chlorinated and warmed, said Doug Gannon, recreation coordinator with the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

"It takes three to four days to chlorinate the water and make it suitable for swimmers and to get the water heated," he said.

The new bubble will allow more light into the area than its predecessor, making the area appear brighter to users. It also will be more resistant to weather, said Dr. Steve Del Vecchio, business manager for Cape Girardeau School District.

"It has a different anchoring system and this bubble is all translucent," said Del Vecchio. "It's made out of Tedlar on the outside, which is a very smooth material that keeps snow and ice from sticking."

The previous bubble was destroyed by a storm which swept through the area in May. It was originally installed in 1992 and was damaged twice by storm activity.

The new bubble, paid for with insurance proceeds, will cost the school district between $205,000 to $215,000 including installation.

The lifetime of the bubble is expected to be between 10 and 15 years.

The pool was a 1979 cooperative project between the city and school district to build, maintain and operate a swimming pool throughout the year on the campus of Central High School.

The arrangement was made so that high school physical education classes and swim team practices and meets could be held in an indoor facility during the fall and winter months.

The bubble is generally in place from late September until late May. It's removed and stored during the summer, when users typically prefer swimming outdoors, said Gannon.

Athletic director Terry Kitchen said school and city swim teams have been sharing practice space at Southeast Missouri State University's Parker Pool. Although grateful to the university for providing practice space, Kitchen said he's glad to see Central Pool reopening, especially now that the boys' swim team season is underway.

"The problem is that we have to share that facility, so it limits what you can get done," he said. "On Monday, we'll have more lanes to swim in and a diving board to practice with."

Although most of the city's programming is scheduled in the spring and summer, Central Pool is open to the public throughout the year. In addition to use by the Cape Gators Swim Team, the city also sponsors swimming, aqua aerobics and water safety classes at the pool.

The classes were canceled this year after repairs took longer than scheduled to complete. However, ample time will be scheduled in the spring to prepare inexperienced swimmers for the summer, said Gannon.

"We offer some swim lessons in the fall, but typically there's not a lot of usage then because the weather is still good enough for people to be outside," he said. "There should be plenty of availability this spring."

The bulk of public scheduling at the pool in the fall and winter months consists of public swim times and rental usage for private parties. Although the repairs may have inconvenienced some users, Gannon said he hasn't received many complaints.

"We haven't had a whole lot of people complaining about the process we were going through," he said. "It couldn't have been done any faster."