Blackfoot City Swimming Pool closing indefinitely

Elections are finally over and now some of the after-effects are starting to be felt.

In Blackfoot, one vote will have a lasting impact on the community.

The Blackfoot Pool will be no more come Sunday.

Tuesday’s vote to save the pool failed by only 83 votes, and on Saturday, the pool will open for the final time.

So what comes next?

“The original grant the funded the pool was secured back in 1972, the pool opened in 1973. The cost of the pool then was 500,500 dollars,” said Mayor Marc Carroll.

A cost that was split between the city of Blackfoot and the national park service with a stipulation.

“There’s always strings attached to anything, the string on this is that that facility and that ground has to be used for outdoor recreation in perpetuity,” he said.

But now, with the pool closing, the city has to find another use for the space. Carroll plans to hold a town hall meeting to discuss options but already has a few in mind.

“Now could it turned into a community center, could it be turned into an indoor tennis court, pickleball courts, could it be meeting rooms, an indoor soccer arena, there’s a lot of things conceivable that we could do with it.”

But the pool will certainly be missed.

Former Blackfoot Mayor and activist with the Save the Pool Committee Mike Virtue believes the community will regret the move.

“My personal opinion is that at some point in the future, not to be sour grapes, the community will have “Regerts” with respect to the pool, cause next year, when the mothers are looking for things for their children to do during the summer, where to learn to swim, there won’t be a place in Blackfoot for them to do it,” said Virtue.

There are not currently any events planned for the pools final day, and according to Carroll, the shutdown procedures will begin on Monday when the draining of the pool begins.

Carroll who’s lived in Blackfoot for more than 40 years says all of his children and grandchildren learned to swim there, and his 9-month-out great-grandchild would have learned there, but unfortunately, she will not have that opportunity.

If you purchased a pass to the pool, the city is offering a refund on the unused portion.