Even with all the construction, the popular children's swim lessons and aqua-fit classes for adults continue to be offered this summer at the MARC. Park City Recreation Director Ken Fisher said open swim pool hours change on different days of the week.
“The leisure pool is operational this summer, and is open, I'd say as normal. It's Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, from 12:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.,” he said. “We do aqua-fit every morning, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and then on Tuesday and Thursday, the pool is open 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.”
With the loss of the lap pool this summer, he said the youth swim team and adult master classes aren’t being offered.
Construction staging is also consuming about a third of the parking lot.
“We're asking people to carpool, bike and walk,” Fisher said. “Parking is a challenge, so we ask people to be patient. And it seems to be mostly in the morning that it's the most difficult. But we have done things to mitigate that. We've started pretty much all our off-site programs at a different location. Our adventure camp. We used to meet at the MARC, and now they're meeting out at the ice arena, or mountain bike rides are meeting at trail heads.”
With next fiscal year’s budget now approved, Fisher said construction on the new community center will begin after summer camp ends in mid-August. The center project, which will replace the recreation building in City Park, was facing a $4-million shortfall, which he says has been remedied.
“The community center is located in the lower Park Ave RDA, and they, city council had issued a series of sales tax bonds related to that number of years ago,” he said. “And it was that funding was originally going to be used to do a complete rebuild on Park Avenue. Instead that funding has been allocated to the community center, so we're able to get that additional funding without impacting any general fund projects or impact the Park City taxpayer directly.”
Fisher said costs have escalated as site details emerged, and tariffs could also be to blame. A 17-inch sewer pipe that runs through City Park must be rerouted while maintaining sewer service, and the electric utility will also have to be upgraded. A final construction contract, he said, is scheduled for approval at the July 10 Park City Council meeting.
The new community center, he says, will be operational in December 2026. Fisher expects as many as 60 more children could be added to the summer camp program once the building is finished. The aquatics facility, he added, will be ready by next summer, and he hopes to get the new, larger hot tub open by this winter.
