City Of Aurora Breaks Ground On Family Aquatic Center

Friday, October 1, 2021 at 11:09 AM

The City hopes to have the new pool open by Memorial Day weekend 2022.

City of Aurora Mayor Mark Drury and City Manager Derek Walker with representatives from Maxwell Construction. Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3.

(Aurora, Ind.) - The City of Aurora broke ground Friday on a new pool just eight months after launching their "Fill the Pool" fundraiser.

Prior to launching the fundraiser, the City agreed to finance $2.5 million to build a brand-new Family Aquatic Center. But, the City believed that the financing would not be enough to build their dream pool. Therefore, a $1 million fundraising goal was set to help.

While there is still some fundraising left to do to reach the $1 million goal, the City was able to break ground at the proposed site of the Aurora Family Aquatic Center at Aurora City Park, 437 Park Avenue.

"What an honor it is to be able to start and see this project finish with the cooperation of many people," said Mayor Mark Drury. "Nothing this size gets done without a whole lot of input from a whole lot of folks. So, I want to thank all those involved."

Aurora's previous pool stayed in operation for over 50 years, but became riddled with many problems in recent memory. In 2020, the City of Aurora decided not to open the pool due to COVID-19 concerns - which allowed time to come up with a plan for the future.

The plan consisted of a pool with lap lanes capable of hosting outdoor swimming events, water volleyball court, slide, zero entry section with a play feature for children, heating element to extend the pool season into the early spring and late fall, two-way concession stand for park and pool patrons, public Wi-Fi, and more.

Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3.

"We got to this point today where we are actually going to break ground on this project, not just to benefit the citizens of Aurora but this is going to spread out through the region," said Drury. "There are many areas around us that have no facility like this that they can call there own."

Drury added that the project was designed with a pool committee that gathered all the input they could to determine how they could best serve the needs of the community.

"This past pool served us very well," said Drury. "It was here for over 50 years, probably longer than it should have been here. But we stretched it as far as we can and we hope to get a lot of life out of the new one, and we know we will."

City manager Derek Walker tells Eagle Country 99.3 that construction could begin within the next two weeks or so. The tentative schedule is to start moving dirt in mid-October. The hope is to open the pool by Memorial Day weekend in May of 2022.

"With the supply chain being what it is, we're going to hold our breath and hope that everything comes in at the rate we hope it comes in," said Drury.

As for the fundraising goal, Walker says the City is about $145,000 short of where they want to be. About $140,000 hinges on some grants, while the remaining $5,000 will be made up from raffles from the Aurora Farmers Fair, and two upcoming events.

"An awful lot of it is for the amenities," said Drury. "We were able to add a few things that were options because of the generous contributions that so many folks have made."

The next “Fill the Pool” fundraiser is the first annual Great Gabbard Gunfight. Two live shootout reenactments with gun safety and cannon demonstration will take place on November 6.

The event will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Gabbard Riverfront Park. Other activities at the event include karaoke, bluegrass music, food, drinks, beer, and more.

The City is also planning a Euchre Tournament in November.

For more information, visit City of Aurora, IN | Facebook.