City Breaks Ground On First New City Pool In 50+ Years

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - For decades people on the north side of Fort Worth have complained about the city swimming pool and Wednesday those complaints were resolved.

When the Marine Park pool first opened Calvin Coolidge was president.

"The old pool was built in 1926, so we got our money's worth out of that," the director of parks and community services, Richard Zavala, said laughing.

Leaders from across the city attended the groundbreaking for the new aquatic center.

"This is the first new city pool in over 50 years, and I can't think of a better place to do it than here on the north side of Marine Park," city council member Sal Espino said.

Leaders said the old pool had become crowded and expensive to maintain.

Besides availability and aesthetics, Mayor Betsy Price sees the new pool as a positive for kids' lifestyles.

"We just kicked off out FitWorth Program this past weekend, to encourage families and children to get fit, to get healthy, because children who are healthier learn better," the Mayor said at the groundbreaking.

The new Neighborhood Family Aquatics Center will cost in the neighborhood of $3.85 million – money that was just recently allocated.

"We past a budget yesterday and while it may not be what everybody wants, it does include the funds on the pool and it includes the upkeep, and then the ongoing support to open the Forest Park pool," Mayor Price said.

The city will pay cash for the project, using reserve funds and federal tax money.

The new aquatic center will be built near the original pool site and is scheduled to open in May of 2013.