Foley, Ala. – (OBA) – Foley residents will have a chance to provide input on plans for the city’s indoor-outdoor pool facility to be built in Max Griffin Park.

The city will hold a public input meeting Tuesday, July 23 on the proposed Foley aquatics center. The meeting will start at 6 p.m. in the Foley Civic Center at 407 East Laurel Ave. The discussion will allow residents to comment on the project before the design of the center is completed.

The new facility will replace the outdoor pool that was built in 1953. 

Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the city has outgrown the current pool. He said an indoor pool would allow residents and groups such as school and youth swim teams to use the facility for recreation and practice throughout the year.

“Right now, our pool is a nice pool, well maintained, but it's an outdoor pool and it's only used during the summer,” Hellmich said. “We've gotten to the point in our city where people want year-round access to an aquatics center.”

Features for the new facility are still being designed, but the new pool will include improvements such as better access under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The new center would be built on the site of the current pool in Max Griffin Park. 

Current plans call for construction to begin after the end of the summer swimming season in 2025. The current pool would be demolished to allow for construction of the new aquatic center.

“As soon as the pool season is over, we will shut it down and they will start construction,” Hellmich said. “That's gonna take a little while to get it done. So we'll have to work out all that scheduling so it doesn't impact our citizens any more than it has to but hopefully, we’ll get all that done with as little inconvenience as possible.” 

More information on the aquatic center and a survey to allow residents to provide input is also available at https://bit.ly/4d7f3RE.