Collegian file photo.
CHRIS BROWN | STAFF REPORTER | cbbrown@butler.edu
The Health and Recreation Complex’s aquatic center will be closed for more than three weeks in March to undergo much-needed repairs.
All parts of the center, including the pools, spa and sauna will be closed starting March 4 and lasting until March 27, during which time repairs and replacements will be made to a variety of pool-related equipment.
This closing comes after the aquatic center has been on limited hours for several weeks largely due to problems with both pool and general facility lighting.
“The lighting issues really decreased the lifeguards’ ability to see and supervise what was going on in the pool,” Collin Grose, an HRC building supervisor, said.
The aquatic center, which opened just over ten years ago, is also experiencing problems keeping its spa and sauna functional. This is something that is also intended to be remedied with the upcoming maintenance.
“Essentially [the situation] was to the point where it was really just something that we needed to get done to make sure that it was the type of experience that we want everybody to have,” HRC operations intern Brad Montgomery said.
The repairs to be made include replacing both underwater lights as well as general facility lighting with new LED lights, re-grouting floor tile, repairing pool grating and other repairs to pool equipment.
Montgomery said this “collection of issues” led the staff to decide that “it was safer for everybody to make that happen.”
“Hopefully once this all gets completed we’ll be able to provide a much better experience for everybody that’s using the pool and the aquatic center,” Montgomery said.
Grose said that the goal is also “a cleaner and safer environment for the patrons.”
“We’re very excited to see the aquatic center and the pool reopen and see how those renovations positively affect the patrons’ experience at the HRC,” Grose said.
During the more than three-week-long closure, many aquatic center employees will temporarily get the opportunity to work in different positions at the HRC or in other areas throughout campus, director of recreation Scott Peden said in an email to the Collegian.
“The aquatic staff and the professional staff here I believe are going above and beyond for the student employees and doing what they can to try and get them working and a paycheck at the end of the week,” Grose said.
The HRC has worked to provide patrons who regularly use the aquatic center with an alternative option thanks to a partnership with the Indianapolis Jewish Community Center. Any HRC member will have free access to the JCC’s facilities, located at 6701 Hoover Rd., during this time.
“They’ve gone above and beyond to offer us that service and we’re more than grateful for them,” Grose said.
The JCC is roughly a ten-minute drive from Butler’s campus.
As for the HRC aquatic center’s repairs, Peden said that the staff was “excited and relieved,” but added that they “understand the impact it may have on many of our students, and for that, we apologize.”
“It’s our hope that with the JCC being accessible and then looking forward to coming back to a better aquatic center, we can help reduce the overall inconvenience,” Peden said.
The HRC’s aquatic center will continue to operate on reduced hours until the closure begins. That schedule as well as the schedule for the JCC’s facilities can be found online at the HRC’s website and JCC’s website.
