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By Buzz Trexler
Star Correspondent

Elizabethton City Council members were told at Thursday night’s regular meeting the Franklin Pool will not be open for the 2025 summer season. However, a capital projects request discussed at an earlier budget workshop indicates the renovation will be substantial.

As council members discussed a resolution approving a contract with AE4H2O for consulting and design services as the city fully renovates the nearly 100-year-old pool, Parks and Recreation Director David Nanney said the popular facility would reopen for the 2026 season and the public would experience “a spectacular and beautiful year.”

According to the resolution, the pool opened in 1928, the city purchased the facility in the mid-1990s, and it has undergone minimal updates, except for a surface renovation completed in 1998.

The pool, at 1600 Franklin Club Drive, closed in late June 2024 because a water circulation pump failed. In August, the department announced the pool would be closed for the season, saying the decision had been made to replace the pump as part of a pool renovation project.

In late 2023, the First Tennessee Development District awarded a block grant of $630,000 to help fund improvements to the pool, which the resolution said was losing 6 inches of water a day due to substantial leaks. The proposed total rehabilitation would include a PVC liner, pool heater, new plumbing, a new chlorination system, new guttering around the pool for skimming, beach-style entry and a modernized pump room with updated equipment.

Parks and Recreation has submitted a $1.6 million capital fund request for the pool renovation that was discussed Monday in a 2025-26 budget workshop. AE4H2O’s fee is 7.86 percent of the total project cost, which the contract estimated at $1,065,234.86. Asked by Councilman Mike Simerly if it is normal for consultants to base their fee on a percentage of the project’s final cost rather than a set fee, City Manager Daniel Estes said it was “pretty much standard for the industry” and is generally negotiated between 6 and 8 percent depending on the project.

“Is there some provision to tell this company to get cracking on this, because we need this resolved?” Councilman Richard Barker asked Nanney.

“We’re pushing right along,” Nanney said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a contractor to bring to you on the June agenda, and then they’ll be able to get started right away, as soon as they can mobilize and get their stuff together.”

The project is “actively pressing forward with bidding and construction,” according to a Parks and Recreation release issued today. “The City remains committed to delivering an improved aquatic facility and looks forward to welcoming the public back for the 2026 pool season.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated from an earlier version.