Closer and closer

It may look finished from the outside, but Hartley's new pool still needs a vital piece of internal equipment before the ribbon can be cut.

Local officials received word this week that the pool's variable frequency drives (VFDs) had been shipped and are on the way to the City With a Heart. Even so, Superintendent of Public Works Jaron Benz was unsure when they would arrive and be installed.

"We're looking forward to getting it finished and open," Benz said. "I don't want this to be delayed any longer than anybody else does."

The VFDs are the final piece of the puzzle at the new swimming pool. The devices control the pool pumps and are needed to fill the pool, but delivery was pushed back earlier this spring. Officials had previously hoped to open the facility by June 1.

City Administrator Erica Haack said there will be a soft opening once the pool is ready followed by a larger celebratory event; however, no date has been set.

"We're reluctant to say a date, because things are still falling into place," she said.

Haack hoped city officials would know more by the beginning of next week. Once the VFDs are installed, city workers need to fill the pool, test equipment and learn operating procedures before local kids can take the inaugural "first dip."

As for finishing touches, painters on Tuesday still needed to finish the final coat on the top gutter wall and the family slide needed to be installed. The pool house was basically finished, and Benz said other minor details would get wrapped up prior to opening day.

"It has really started to look like something over the past two weeks," Benz said. "As soon as the sun shades went up, people really started asking about when it was opening."