The recent decision by the Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department to close Deming Park pool puts the city in a unique category statewide.
The Parks Board voted 2-1 on April 20 to permanently shut down Deming pool. Low revenue and maintenance costs were cited by parks superintendent Eddie Bird. Deming was the last of the city’s three pools to close, following Voorhees and Sheridan earlier in the past decade. All three were approved for construction in 1961.
Of the 19 largest Indiana cities outside of Indianapolis, Terre Haute is now one of only two without a municipal-operated swimming facility. And the other, affluent Noblesville, is home to an Olympic-sized, open-to-the-public outdoor pool operated by a nonprofit organization.
The city of Muncie owns Tuhey Pool, but it is operated by White River Aquatics.
The Tribune-Star contacted parks departments at the other 18 cities last week to confirm the number of municipal pools for each town and the dates they’ll open for the 2016 season.
Fishers — located in Hamilton County along with Noblesville and Carmel — doesn’t have a city pool, but instead operates a municipal beach. The 20-acre Saxony Lake and Beach opens Memorial Day weekend for public swimming.
Nine of the cities maintain multiple swimming facilities, including Bloomington, Elkhart, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Gary, Hammond, Lafayette, Mishawaka and South Bend. Mishawaka considered closing Mary Gibbard Park pool and converting it to a splash pad, according to the South Bend Tribune archives, but a parks department staffer told the Tribune-Star on Monday that the Gibbard pool will open for summer 2016 by early June.
Most of the 18 cities will open their swimming outlets around Memorial Day weekend, or the first Saturday in June. Gary pools open July 4, while the city’s Marquette Park beach opens for swimming on May 27.
Gary is also reopening two pools that have been closed for several years — Borman Square Park pool and Reed Park pool.
South Bend may have the most unique mix of water offerings. Along with the Potowatomi Park pool and the Kennedy Water Playground, that northern Indiana city maintains the East Race Waterway. It’s a white water rafting course fed by the St. Joseph River that runs through the downtown. South Bend has operated the course for 31 years.