Don?t call it “just a pool.”
The Swansfield Pool in Harper?s Choice may have been similar to Columbia?s 22 others, but now the pool boasts Howard?s tallest, longest outdoor water slide.
“It was just like most of the community pools,” said Cynthia Coyle, the Harper?s Choice representative on the Columbia Association Board of Directors.
A new 18-foot-high, 105-foot-long fire engine-red water slide has launched Swansfield from ordinary pool status to a county best.
“We are trying to renovate our facilities so they can be better used,” said John Herdson, the CA?s aquatics director.
The slide, which opened June 11, was just one piece of the first phase of renovations, which also include new umbrellas, revamped landscaping and all-new poolside furniture, he said.
In the fall, officials plan to add new bath house facilities and install a spray pad, where water sprays up from a flat area, he said.
The upgrades are expected to lure residents back to Swansfield and away from the crowded River Hill pool, the newest of Columbia?s pools.
The newer amenities and easy accessibility from Route 32 made the River Hill pool more attractive to swimmers.
“We need to keep this up and do what it takes to keep providing our residents with nice amenities,” Coyle said. Swansfield may have toppled the outdoor pool competition, but the indoor Splashdown slides still have all the outdoor pools beat with two 40-foot-high, 360-foot-long slides. Splashdown is in the Columbia Swim Center in Wilde Lake.
However, Splashdown?s fate appears to be less promising. The 20-year-old slides need costly repairs, and the boardshould evaluate the slides? viability, Rob Goldman, the CA?s vice president for sports and fitness, said in a statement to the board?s Planning and Strategy Committee.
The stairs need about $30,000 in repairs this summer so Splashdown can open again in the fall, Goldman said. Another $260,000 to $340,000 will be needed in the next few years for related repairs. Coyle said more people would use the indoor slide “if it?s more than usable for birthday parties and was [in better condition].”
