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Daytime temperatures have been soaring recently, and one way for kids to beat the heat is a trip to the city pool for a day of splashing and frolicking.

According to Recreation Director Mindy Daniel, the pool is averaging nearly 71 kids per day, and at that rate, Daniel told the Recreation Commission last Tuesday, the pool might stay open on weekends only, after school starts and through Labor Day.

Going back to last Friday.

The Recreation Department currently has about $510,000 left in the pool refurbishing/remodeling budget that it received from SPLOST proceeds.

Talks have been on-going with the Upson County School Board to joint venture the project, and co-mingle resources to enclose the pool area and create a state of the art pool facility.

However, talks have slowed, and while details of a co-venture remain topics for discussion, Daniel said the decision has been made to move forward.

“We are going to go ahead and go forward and do as much as we can,” explained Daniel. “We want to get the structural anchors and everything else done with the refurbishing of the pool so we can be ready to enclose the pool and have a nice, easy transition if the school board dollars become available.

“We are going to continue operating as a summer pool and look for grants, private foundation money and even co-partnering with other entities.

”The school board has been a great partner and will continue to be so. The dollars needed for this project are overwhelming and the scope of the project is pretty big.

“At this point, we will do our improvements with hopes that in the future, we can enclose the pool.”

At this point, bid packages for the refurbishing have not been sent out. The Recreation Department will continue reviewing the preliminary plans for the pool but one thing is certain when the bid process begins.

“We want to do business with experienced pool people,” stated Daniel. “The final price tag, after all the work is completed, could be literally millions by the time it is done.”