The Meridian Park Family Aquatic Center is on schedule to open May 29 after staying closed throughout the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pool is already filled and work is in progress to replace the smaller drop slide that was showing some age.

“We took out one of the slides and are putting in a new slide,” said Karen Martin, director of the Shelbyville Parks and Recreation Department which operates the venue. “The old slide had some rusted areas that I felt was a huge liability for the city and us. So we are replacing the whole slide because the cost to replace the parts would have been almost as much. It just made sense to replace the whole thing.”

Jeff Brown photos

The Meridian Park Family Aquatic Center in on track to open May 29 after remaining closed all of 2020. The Shelbyville Parks and Recreation Department is currently replacing the small drop slide that was located next to the climbing wall with a new one.

With no summer jobs to offer in 2020, the parks department has found hiring staff in 2021 to be difficult. Trusted seasonal employees moved on to other job opportunities leaving the parks department in search mode even as opening day is just over a month away.

“We’ve had three or four apply and we will be starting interviews,” said Martin. “It’s sad to see some of our senior leaders leaving. They are great people and they have been great people for us. We are going to miss them. Hopefully, we will move forward in a positive way.”

In a previous story for the Shelby County Post, Trisha Tackett, assistant director of the parks department, called the decision to keep the aquatic center closed in 2020 one of the most difficult decisions ever made.

“We’re moving forward,” said Martin, who mentioned the facility will be in start-up mode today. “Right now, it looks like we are on schedule and that’s a positive thing.”