Lyons Pool Won’t Be Open This Summer

Mayor Andy Fuston

By Andy Fuston, Lyons Mayor

Well, I have some bad news. Some of you have probably already heard but the swimming pool will not be opening this summer. We were hopeful that we would be able to open by the 4^th of July weekend but that dream quickly disappeared upon hearing the news that the contractor got the elevation of the lazy river wrong and the engineers and contractor didn’t catch it until two weeks ago. The water level will not reach all the way to the end of the lazy river and the skimmer that recirculates the water. Consequently, the only way to fix the problem is to tear out the whole lazy river and re-pour it. That will take the rest of the swimming season. It needs to be repaired right away because it wouldn’t pass the state health inspection otherwise. So we are literally up a lazy river without a paddle at this point.

I can’t express to you how disappointed I and the rest of the council are that this has happened. I know you share in the disappointment as well. It hurts that much more because we were so close to the end of the project. But we want it done right so we must move forward. I’m confident that when the project is all said and done we will have the best pool around. We will just be waiting until next year before we really can enjoy it. I can assure you that the city is not responsible for the extra expense it will take to tear up the concrete and pour the new river. The city will not pay any more than what we are contractually obligated to pay. So to all the kids out there who were really looking forward to free swimming the rest of the summer, I apologize. It just wasn’t meant to be I guess. Please tell them to hang in there one more school year and prepare for a great time in the pool next year.

On to happier news. Could we have not asked for a better 4^th of July! The weather was perfect. Thursday night was a hoot with the Bubble soccer at the school. If you missed it, you missed a really fun time. The firemen’s’ dance was also well attended. On Friday, the park was full of people playing horseshoes, eating delightful goodies, competing in volleyball, tractor pulling and fishing tournaments and just walking around enjoying the sights and sounds of the day. The day was topped off by a spectacular fireworks display that seems to always get better year after year. This was my twentieth year being involved with the Lyons Community Club and the 4^th of July festival. There was a time when I was really nervous about our ability to pull off such a large event. Not anymore! We have a great mix of “seasoned” members and new blood that are pulling off some great events. Not many communities our size could be as successful, I believe, as we have been sponsoring events like Bicycles Riders Across Nebraska and the 4^th of July Celebration in such a short period of time. Throw in the Relay for Life which involved many of the same volunteers and that is three big events in a thirty day span of time. Thank the Community Club for that. I’m excited about the future of entertainment in Lyons with these folks in charge. You should be too! So thank you Community Club for all your hard work and effort in pulling off another great 4^th of July Celebration!

Finally just a quick update on the auditorium. Progress is being made but it is taking time. The first phase only involved the big room and since we received our $375,000 grant we have made some changes in phase two that affects phase one. Our goal is to have phase two out for bid by the end of July/first part of August. We have an end date in mind for the entire project but I’m learning that those dates are usually moving targets so I don’t want to speculate too much at this early stage. I do think you are going to be excited about the new look of the auditorium (from here on in I’m going to try and start referring to it as the community center because that is really what it is going to be when complete). When we get the final rendering that will be used for the bidding process, we will get it out for all to see. In the meantime, we can all watch Steiny’s new building go up on Main Street and Brehmer Manufacturing’s expanding for a second time in as many years! Talk about fantastic news. All we need now is a new owner of the Branding Iron and Lyons would be cooking with gas! It will happen. I am keeping the faith. How could we not with all these other wonderful things happening to our little community! Take care and we’ll talk to you again real soon.