Pool, diving facility at Creekmore Park set for Memorial Day opening

Renovation to the pool, diving facility and bathhouse area at Creekmore Park is on budget and on schedule, with all indicators pointing to the facility opening with a regular schedule on Memorial Day weekend.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors in March 2024 unanimously approved a $5.997 million plan to renovate the pool, diving facility and bathhouse area at Creekmore Park in 2024. The board of directors approved a contract with Beshears Construction to be the construction manager on the project in September 2023. Funding for the work is supported by $4 million in extra revenue from the city’s 2012 and 2014 bond sales tax revenue.

The work on the 77-year-old pool area includes new amenities, such as a concession stand and a lifeguard break area. The project also involves demolition of the 77-year-old bathhouse and diving well dome, construction of a new bathhouse and diving well enclosure, addition of a party/meeting room, and a new lobby. The main pool area will be improved with new bleachers and fencing around the pool, which will also have a shaded canopy around the perimeter of the facility.

“A primary benefit of using the CM (construction management) approach is we receive cost estimates throughout the design process from a contractor versus an engineer’s estimate,” said Sara Deuster, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Fort Smith. “This project started out with an estimated $8.3 million price tag. Beshears provided pricing at key design benchmarks throughout the project, which allowed us to identify design modifications to help reduce costs. This monthslong process resulted in a guaranteed maximum price of $5.998 million.”

As of Wednesday (Feb. 12), the project was scheduled to finish on budget and on schedule, she said.

“We did run into some issues at the start of construction,” Deuster said. “Beshears Construction was able to provide solutions for each of these issues. The initial foundation work did take longer because of these issues. However, we are still on schedule to open Memorial Day weekend.”

The renovation will provide citizens with a modern municipal swimming facility and position Fort Smith as a premier swimming facility for outdoor long course swim meets, according to the city. Additionally, the permanent enclosure of the diving well will allow for high school short course meets to be hosted and provide a training facility for several local organizations.

The pool will be the site of the local “Creekmore Classic” in June and the Arkansas State Age Group Championships in late July.

“Creekmore Park is home to our city’s only public swimming pool,” Deuster said. “We have a diverse group of patrons who use the pool that ranges from a typical pool user, swim teams, lifeguard training, Fort Smith Fire Department and National Guard training exercises, etc. I think the diverse users and the impact these improvements will have on them was demonstrated through the number of different individuals who came to speak in support of this project during the March 26, 2024, board meeting.”

In addition to the impact the project improvements will have on the various groups using the pool, Deuster reminded residents that the project is being done out of necessity.

The former bathhouse had outdated plumbing, ventilation, lighting, and electrical capacity that could not be addressed by minor repairs. The state of the toilet and shower areas was beyond simply installing new components because everything would have to be retrofitted, she said.

“Unfortunately, the bathhouse, while it remained open, became seldom used by pool users due to its condition,” Deuster said. “This lessened the time families spent at the pool due to less than desirable restrooms and changing areas. Investing in our existing infrastructure, especially as our city’s only public pool, also allows us to provide a well-maintained facility for citizens to use at a low cost.”

The dressing room upgrade has been needed for a long time, said Ian Bullock, manager of the pool. The facility has operated with dressing rooms that were built in 1948.

“It is a welcomed improvement with new showers, bathrooms, restrooms, dressing room facilities and lockers, new offices, new concessions, and a new party room that patrons can use when renting the pool,” he said.