Woodland this week opened its $15 million Aquatic Center with a crowded ribbon-cutting, where Mayor Tom Stallard celebrated by jumping into the lap pool. Regular lap swim and water-exercise hours start on Monday, with larger summer programs planned for June.
What’s inside the new center
Sitting at 2001 East Street next to the Woodland Community and Senior Center, the new complex is not your basic neighborhood pool. It features a ten-lane competition pool that includes a shallow “learn to swim” lane, plus an activity pool with interactive, zero-entry play features. There are locker rooms with both indoor and outdoor showers, along with a large shaded lawn and an expanded pool deck for spectators and sunbathers, according to City of Woodland.
The project came with a roughly $15 million price tag, and City Manager Ken Hiatt noted that the facility was paid for in cash. Between the two pools, about 353,000 gallons of water are now in circulation, and an estimated 400 people turned out for the ribbon-cutting on Saturday, details reported by Daily Democrat.
Relief for Woodland’s pools
For years, the Charles Brooks Community Swim Center has carried most of Woodland’s aquatic workload and routinely ran out of swim-lesson slots. The new Aquatic Center is expected to ease that crunch and allow the city to stagger lessons, practices and recreation between the two facilities, according to City of Woodland.
Pioneer High School is scheduled to begin practices at the new pool, and the city says summer lessons and broader recreational swim programming are slated to start in June.
Funding and community support
Construction took roughly 16 months from start to finish, with a mix of public dollars and private generosity getting the project across the lane line. Philanthropic donors, including the John and Eunice Davidson Fund, Nugget Markets, Food 4 Less, the Dowling Family Foundation, Woodland Clinic Medical Group and Pacific Coast Producers, helped cover part of the cost.
The city reports that funding came from local sales taxes, the general fund, housing development agreements and those philanthropic gifts. Strong community turnout at the ribbon-cutting underscored just how ready Woodland residents were for more public pool space, as reported by Daily Democrat.
