City, county, school district and university officials joined Chamber of Commerce Diplomats Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the newly refurbished pool at Missouri Western State University’s M.O.Looney Complex.
Officials praised the leadership of the late U.S. Senator Thomas Eagleton, who helped secure the funding to construct the new Missouri Western campus and to enable the college to build the original pool in what was then known as the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building.
Hereafter, the pool will be known as the “Thomas Eagleton Indoor Pool.”
We spoke with the Physical Plant Director, Jerry Gentry who tells us they’ve accomplished quite a bit since the project got underway in May.
“We put in an all-new pool, a new pool liner, a new pool deck, new paint, new lighting, new duct work and HVAC, locker rooms and restrooms, new bleachers, and a new front entryway that we didn’t have before,” Gentry said in an interview.
Gentry says they just put the finishing touches on the project this week, and it was expected to be open for the first time Tuesday.
“Since it was a community project, it will be accessible for everyone to use,” he said. “You know, the city, the school district, the parks board, the county, everybody has partnered on this project to make it happen, so it’s just a matter of scheduling the times and reserving the spaces.”
Missouri Western and the City of St. Joseph have signed a five-year programming and use agreement for the pool. The city will make an annual payment to Missouri Western to offset part of the pool’s operating expenses, provide programming in the pool, and make the city’s aquatic recreation supervisor available to help manage the pool during the months of September through March.
The pool will be available for “open swim” recreational use by the general public at least 30 hours per week. A daily pass is $4.
In addition to the city, Missouri Western has worked with the YMCA, St. Joseph School District, Buchanan County and others to be sure all local pool users can be accommodated.