Community leaders and excited citizens gathered Thursday afternoon, July 28, at the Community Center for the groundbreaking ceremony for Phase II of the Excelsior Springs Community center, AKA the outdoor aquatic center. The outdoor aquatic center, which has been “in the works” for nearly 35 years, is finally becoming a reality with Mayor Sharon Powell along with Parks and Recreation/Community Center Director, Nate Williams announcing at the event that the eight-lane, competition-level pool is slated to open in May 2023. Representatives from the Community Center, Parks and Rec, the Excelsior Springs School District, City of Excelsior Springs, Excelsior Springs Hospital, members of the architectural firm, and other excited citizens were all on hand to witness the long-awaited event.
Sherrie Branson-Hurt who termed out as a member of the Parks and Recreation Board and now serves on the Phase II Committee said that this is a day she’s been looking forward to since she was a young adult. She recalled swimming at Lake Mauer and the Hall of Waters and said that a facility like this is just what the community needs. She foresees this as the beginning of something even bigger. “I just see this as such a positive step for our kids and for our community, and it’s just the beginning. I don’t think anything’s impossible. I think once this is built, and the community benefits from it, they’re gonna want more,” she smiled. The success of the Community Center has shown the great desire from Excelsior Springs residents for a space for recreation and relaxation. Nate Williams said that when the Community Center was first opened in 2017 early projections indicated that at this point they were expecting around 3,900 members. The current number of members at the Excelsior Springs Community Center is at 6,400 and growing.
Brian Garvy, with SFS Architecture, said he was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the Community Center was able to grow and expand. “We did the feasibility study that led to the community center project. We knew there was always space for the outdoor aquatic center here. But we didn’t think it would happen so soon. It’s just been just five years, but here we are and that’s pretty exciting,” he said.
Mark Bullimore, Communications Director for the Excelsior Springs School District said he’s looking forward to all of the possibilities that an aquatic center will allow the youth of Excelsior Springs to experience. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us to continue our partnership with the Community Center and to expand offerings and activities that we offer to our high school students. As we get into the suburban conference, there are more sports and activities that are available. A lot of those schools are going to have swim teams. With this opportunity, we might be able to start a middle school or upper elementary Swim Club, and then we can transition that to kids that are ready for a high school swim team,” he said.
Williams said, “This is just like that first step into, hopefully, multiple stages with this facility. To be able to kind of break the seal and get this done is very exciting.”
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Just curious what thus us costing tax payers, and don’t tell me it’s federally sponsored because that’s tax payers also!
There was always a Phase 2 with plans to expand with an outdoor pool when the Community Center measure was passed. It is our understanding that it is possible due to the large amount of memberships that the Center holds. Drainage from Powell Lake at Century Park was already creating problems down stream and had to be fixed, which is being done with ARPA funds.