Unused for nearly 3 years, Parowan’s renovated city pool to reopen on Fourth of July

Written by Jeff Richards
July 2, 2023

PAROWAN — Parowan’s city pool is about to make a splash of a comeback.

Parowan City Pool’s renovation is nearly complete, July 1, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

After sitting dormant for nearly three years, the 60-year-old facility is being revitalized just in time for the summer season.

The pool will be open to the public on Tuesday afternoon, July 4, from 2-5 p.m. for an Independence Day drenched in fun, according to Parowan Mayor Mollie Halterman.

After several weeks of labor, much of it completed by volunteers, the pool was filled and water successfully tested on Friday.

Halterman said the facility will be officially broken in with a “first plunge” during a volunteer appreciation party on Monday, the night before it officially reopens to the public.

This weekend, as volunteers were performing finishing touches in various areas, Halterman spoke to Cedar City News about the project, which she likened to a “good old fashioned community barn-raising — in the 21st century.”

“We don’t have the final numbers yet, but we were able to do this amazing renovation and remodel that would have cost $1.5 million for under our $300,000 budget,” Halterman said. Much credit goes to the volunteer efforts and donations from residents and businesses in Parowan and supporters in nearby communities.

Volunteers help out during Parowan City Pool renovation project, Parowan, Utah, June 2023 | Photo courtesy of Mollie Halterman, St. George News / Cedar City News

“The last time the pool was open was the summer of 2020,” she added. “If it had been closed for a third year, the empty pool and equipment sitting here dry, and in the elements, would have degraded to a point that it would have been a total loss and it would have needed to be demolished.”

“The only way there was a chance to save the Parowan Pool was if it happened this summer,” Halterman noted. “It was a fight that was worth fighting for the community.” 

Halterman also spoke of the many contributions from various sources, including bake sales, car washes and online donations through the city’s website.

Added Halterman:

The historic Parowan Pool and what it represents is far more than just a city pool. It is a show of ‘community before self’ in the past and now completely revitalized by the same spirit in the present, with an eye toward the future of the next generations. Reopening this pool is a unifying triumph for the residents of Parowan.

Halterman had previously updated Cedar City News about the progress of the pool project during Parowan’s Old Rock Church Days, which brought hundreds of people to town the weekend of June 16-17 at the site of the former church building that now serves as the home of the local Daughters of Utah Pioneer Museum.

That two-day event served as a fundraiser to help preserve the 150-year-old church building, considered one of the best-preserved examples of LDS pioneer architecture from that era.

Parowan Mayor Mollie Halterman talks to members of the public during Old Rock Church Days event, Parowan, Utah, June 17, 2023 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Halterman said the inaugural Old Rock Church Days was such a success that they are planning on an annual event. Donations to the building preservation fund, including “buying a brick,” are still being accepted and may be made through a form on the city’s website.

Halterman noted that when the recent renovation work began on the city pool, workers found that the facility was still in surprisingly good condition, considering the age.

“Just like the Old Rock Church, it was built really well,” the mayor said. “We’ve kept calling it the old gal, our 60-year-old gal.”

“Even at the level of sacrifice for add to reopen this pool, it’s nothing compared to what it took to build it originally,” she added. “It was done right. You can’t do stuff like that anymore, so if you can preserve it, you preserve it.”

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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