Peachtree City Greenlights Bridge Study, New Pool Design as Kedron Faces Year of Disruption

Peachtree City Council took two significant steps last Thursday toward reshaping the city's recreation infrastructure — approving 30-percent design plans for a rebuilt Kedron Aquatic Center and advancing plans for a golf cart bridge over Highway 54 East.

The bridge project covers initial planning work for the crossing, its paths, and related components, according to fayette-news.net. The aquatic center project would tear out the aging pool and replace it with a new facility — ending years of recurring plumbing failures, leaks, and what city officials describe as a facility running on 'ancient technology.'

We're currently facing a pool that's 35 to 40 years old. We're constantly having issues arise with plumbing, electrical, lights being out, things of that nature.— Harold Layton, Director of Recreation

We have had a couple leaks that we've had to address, with the cost associated with that we had to look at the longevity of our pool where we keep fixing these problems [while being] on an ancient technology border.— Harold Layton, Director of Recreation

The solution the council landed on was a clean break rather than another patch job.

We start from scratch and build a new pool at a set price, and then we're good for the next 40-50 years, so ultimately that's what led us to this decision.— Harold Layton, Director of Recreation

The 30-percent design — presented at an October open house and still available on the city's website — calls for eight 25-meter lanes, a separate four-lane recreational pool, a wheelchair-accessible entry ramp, a children's play area alongside the lap pool, a warm-up area for competitive events, and an expanded splash pad and sun deck, according to mhstrail.org. A permanent structure would replace the seasonal inflatable bubble that currently encloses the pool in colder months.

For the community that depends on Kedron daily, the promise of a new facility is real — but so is the disruption of getting there. The pool is the only public aquatic facility serving all of Fayette County, and five high school swim teams coordinate practice time through the city.

I think it limits kids' ability to participate in a sport that they love and the community needs space for exercise, there's a lot of people that can't exercise on land, so [the construction] limits people's ability to go out in the heat.— Jackie DePietre, McIntosh Swim Team Booster Club President

[Practice] will involve us traveling out of county if we can find water; water is really hard to find in winter.— Jackie DePietre, McIntosh Swim Team Booster Club President

Mike Wardwell, head coach and owner of competitive swim team Chattahoochee Gold, offered a more measured take — acknowledging the short-term pain while keeping an eye on the longer picture.

[It] will be challenging for a year, but in the long run, I think it will be an improvement. Having an enclosed facility that is newer and more up to date, would be good for everybody.— Mike Wardwell, Head Coach and Owner, Chattahoochee Gold

The question of who pays — and who benefits — surfaced pointedly at the meeting, which drew a standing-room-only crowd of residents, recreational swimmers, and competitive swimming groups. City Manager Justin Strickland was direct about the construction tab.

As far as construction and maintenance of the pool, it is pretty much Peachtree City taxpayers.— Justin Strickland, City Manager

Strickland added that day-to-day operations after construction would draw on both city funds and fees charged to swimmers from outside Peachtree City. That arrangement drew pointed criticism from at least one longtime resident.

What I do mind is if out of town kids from out of town high schools come here, use these facilities and not pay for them. We pay taxes, they don't.— Harry Vanderkrabben, Peachtree City Resident

On the school side, Assistant Director of Recreation Michelle A. Johnson clarified that Fayette County schools using the pool for swim teams will continue under the existing arrangement — paying a monthly fee rather than contributing to construction costs.

[Schools] schedule time with us, so we work with Fayette County Board of Education for the swim teams to coordinate times for them to swim.— Michelle A. Johnson, Assistant Director of Recreation and Special Events

Not everyone in the crowd was focused on competitive swimming. Beverly Conley, a Peachtree City resident who uses the pool for water aerobics, pointed to a feature the current facility lacks.

Currently the pool does not have as much deep water as we would like, so this would be great and I know the new facility is going to be beautiful.— Beverly Conley, Peachtree City Resident

Mayor Kim Learnard framed the 30-percent approval not as a final decision but as a milestone in a process that still has room for public input — particularly on details like bleacher layout and seating capacity for competitive events.

There is opportunity to provide input until we decide that this is the way we're going to go. There's still opportunity to keep up on The Slice e-newsletter and look at the Peachtree City website to see where this is headed. We are still looking for input as to bleachers, layout and things like that.— Mayor Kim Learnard

I think it's important to remember this is the only public pool facility to serve the whole county. We serve all five high schools and we have tremendous demand on this pool. We want to continue to support all of the programs.— Mayor Kim Learnard

Residents who want to weigh in can follow updates through The Slice e-newsletter and the Peachtree City website. Open swim times and fees are also listed on the city's website.

Why it matters — Kedron is the only public pool in Fayette County, serving five high school swim teams and thousands of recreational users — so how the city manages the construction gap, who bears the cost, and what the final design looks like will affect nearly every family in the area.

Reported by fayette-news.net, mhstrail.org