LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
For years, the Rec Center has served as a hub for fitness classes, youth programs, athletics and active lifestyles for Edgar County residents, but something was missing.
Formerly an aquatics center, the Rec Center’s west wing sat dormant since 2009, back when the building belonged to the YMCA. The facility, outfitted with a large pool and diving boards, offered a space for year-round swimming lessons, competitions and fun for all ages, but financial pressure forced the facility to be shuttered.
Now, more than a decade later, the first step necessary for repairs and renovations in the facility is complete – the pool is coming back.
On Tuesday, April 2, the Rec’s construction firm and one of several partners involved with the project, Petry Kuhne Company, installed safety handrails around the edge of the long-empty pool – the final preliminary step before the project begins in earnest.
Construction crews are expected to return soon to begin demolition and some approved contracting work. Many of the updates to the pool and the facility’s water and HVAC systems are pending the approval of schematics by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Those schematics are nearly complete, according to the Rec’s Executive Director Erin Hutchison. There is no target date for the facility’s restoration at this time, but Hutchison believes the project will move quickly as different pieces of the puzzle fall into place.
“We are hoping that the plans will be finalized and sent off so all this is kind of happening right at the same time,” she said, adding, “I think once the construction begins and the demo process occurs, those companies are going to be doing everything that they can in a very speedy amount of time to renovate our pool and install everything that needs to be (installed).”
Upon sharing the update via Facebook, the Rec elicited an outpouring of positive feedback and stories from local residents with ties to the old pool.
For Hutchison, the milestone marks a turning point in what has been a long, arduous journey. Along with the Rec’s Board of Directors and staff, she has been working toward the return of the fan-favorite amenity for years. Planning and research for the project began prior to the COVID pandemic but was largely derailed during the crisis. Fortunately, Joe and Nila Hasler of Paris reinvigorated the Rec’s campaign to reopen and sustain the pool with a $500,000 donation back in 2022.
Today, the Rec has accrued more than $1.8 million in donations earmarked for the project. Hutchison noted the amount they have now is enough to begin the renovations, but more will be needed to ensure the facility lasts far into the future. Specifically, the Rec is asking for another $1.2 million.
“We have got the majority of the money that we need to make the build occur,” said Hutchison. “But now we need to work on the sustainability part, to ensure that this will be around forever. And it is extremely important that we get to that $3 million mark.”
The $3 million goal will also account for staffing the facility with lifeguards and aquatic instructors among other expenses.
Seeing contractors begin their work in the facility was an experience Hutchison described as “surreal.”
“I knew it was going to happen, but to actually see that part of it… this is kind of a moment in history again,” she explained. “We’re reopening something that most of the town thought was going to be gone forever, and it’s not, thanks to some wonderful people who believe in the project and wanted to give.”
As a Paris native, Hutchison has her own ties to the pool and was briefly on staff before it was shut down.
“I was hired in 2008, three months before they shut the pool down. So I literally didn’t even get to get my feet wet,” she laughed.
Now Hutchison, her staff and the Capital Campaign Committee are preparing not only to get their feet wet, but to dive headfirst into a new era for the Rec, but they need the support of the community to do so.
“Financial (support) is obviously where we need it the most, because that’s what’s going to make this happen, but we (also) need people to spread the excitement and spread the positivity of this project,” she explained. “This has been such a long time coming. I think some people were wondering, ‘is this really going to happen?’ because we’ve not seen much movement, and we need so much positivity at this point.”
To make a donation, learn more about the Rec’s campaign to reopen the pool or to share the latest updates on the renovations, visit www.parisrec.org/dive-in-for-the-future or follow “Paris Rec Center” on Facebook.