Convention Center outdoor pool closed on eve of holiday weekend, leaving swimmers high and dry

Central City Convention Center’s outdoor swimming pool was shuttered by the Muhlenberg County Health Department on the eve of opening day, leaving city officials scrambling to find a solution, and area residents without a place to swim during the Memorial Day weekend. The pool remains closed at this time.

The heath department’s environmental health inspector, Robert McLellan, said there were several reasons the pool was closed. McLellan said there were issues with a chemical feeder pump and missing or damaged safety equipment, and a mandatory landline telephone that dials directly to 911 was disconnected. He said the indoor pool had been flagged for the same telephone infraction months earlier.

McLellan said he noticed a loose drain-cover grate in the spray pad area, which should have been securely attached. Upon further inspection, McLellan said many of the grates were not secured. He also found the grates had not been replaced since the pool was opened, in 2012.

According to a federal pool safety law, these grates should be replaced following manufacturer’s stated lifespan, which is an average of five to eight years.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Act, or VGBA, is a federal law enacted in 2008 and named for a seven-year-old girl who died after she was trapped underwater by the powerful suction of a hot tub drain.

While the pool’s grates are compliant with the act and look to be in good condition, McLellan insisted they be replaced before the pool can be reopened.

The kiddie pool is drained at the Central City Convention Center, and a grate that health department officials say needs replacing sits on the pool deck. City officials are struggling to find the exact grates needed and the pool will remain closed until they are replaced. (Leader-News photo/Stacie Barton)

Tammy Piper, who oversees the Convention Center, acknowledged the missing clips, which they were able to quickly find and replace. Finding new grates is proving to be difficult. She has been able to find grates that are VGBA-compliant, but health department officials say the model and serial numbers must also match those in the pool’s plan, on file with the Kentucky Department of Public Health.

Piper said she has been searching for more than a week now, and they have not been able to find any that match.

For the Convention Center, the timing of the closure couldn’t have been worse. Memorial Day weekend is one of their busiest times of the year, and the start of the summer season. Piper said McLellan came for the inspection in the late afternoon on the day before the pool was opening for the season.

“We understand that we have to be compliant,” Piper said. “It could have been done in a more timely manner.”

The move also forced them to drain the 184,000-gallon pool on Memorial Day, which had already been opened for school field trips in May. Piper said it will take several days to refill and get the chemical balance correct.

Cathy Bethel, director of the health department, said an April 18 class was held to inform officials and pool managers of the steps they need to take to be in compliance with regulations and inspection items for public swimming pools. During this training session, officials from both Central City and Greenville were told to schedule a “pre-opening inspection” with the department. Neither did, Bethel said.

The public pool in Greenville’s Morgan Park was inspected on the morning of June 1 and temporarily closed due to chemical imbalance in their kiddie pool, but staff there were able to correct the balance before opening time.

McLellan said Greenville officials had documentation of new VGBA-compliant grates being installed within the last year to year-and-a-half, but their model numbers do not match the pool’s plan filed with the state. He said they will have to submit those numbers to state public health officials and may also be in search of new grates, and face closure, depending on the outcome.