A plan is finally in place to extend the usability of the competitive swimming pool at Pinetree Recreation Center for students, with the school system investing $46,500 to purchase and install a brand new, gas-powered heating unit.
As recently as August 5, hopes for an extended fall swimming season in 2025 appeared dim at best, as a pending Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Lumpkin County government and the local Board of Education stalled at the last minute over details in the text.
County commissioners requested additional clarity on how the gas to operate the pool heaters would be measured, as well as language specifying that any heater repairs or replacement will be the sole responsibility of the school system.
The next day, on August 6, Chief Operations Officer Greg Trammell warned the school board that the used pool heaters the County had acquired from the University of North Georgia might not even be compatible with the Pinetree pool.
However, all of those issues would be resolved in the course of a month.
During their September 8 meeting, the school board voted without comment to accept an amended IGA for the Pinetree pool. The Board of Commissioners followed suit at their September 16 regular meeting, also ratifying the deal without any further discussion.
Subsequently, The Nugget reached out to Trammell, swimming coach Luke Maloney and Pinetree Rec Center Manager Jared Ray for updates on the fast-moving story and how an agreement will benefit local student athletes as early as this season.
ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATE
The Nugget got in touch with Trammell early last week. He confirmed that none of the three used heaters owned by the County proved to be a viable solution for Pinetree’s pool.
“One was non-commercial. The other two were not compatible for an outdoor pool situation; they were designed to be for an indoor capacity,” Trammell explained.
The school system decided they would purchase a single, brand new heater instead.
“It’s sized in comparison to three, but it’s a more efficient unit. The cost was very similar to trying to do three used ones,” he noted. “We have ordered the unit and are waiting on delivery of that, and the installer is ready to go as soon as it gets here.”
In a follow-up phone call just before press time, Trammell said he had received word that the heater would arrive and be installed sometime this week.
“Of course there will be some follow up installation as far as gas, electrical and ventilation goes. Those pieces will follow the installation of the heater,” he said.
“With no interruptions, hopefully we’ll have that thing heated in a couple of weeks,” Trammell added.
ATHLETIC IMPLICATIONS
Next, The Nugget reached out to Maloney at the high school for an update on the practical implications for competitive swimming.
“As far as the timeline, the reality is that hopefully we will be able to use it this season but obviously until they’re in and the water’s heated it’s still kind of speculative,” Maloney said.
He also indicated that the installation process would begin sometime this week.
“The school board acted quickly in ordering everything and lining it up. The day after it was approved, they had the order placed. What I have been told is that next week the process will begin, and within a couple of weeks we should be good to go,” Maloney continued, adding that Trammell has “been working really hard on it—everybody has.”
Maloney said teams have already been using the Pinetree facility for about a month now because the water has remained fairly warm.
“If the water stays the same, the kids will be able to get through the next couple of weeks without a heater installed. We have a few weeks before our first swim meet, and hopefully by the time that comes everything will be set up and ready to go,” he said.
When asked about a comment from the August BOE meeting that only the middle school team would be able to use the Pinetree pool, Maloney said that the high school can still practice there.
Maloney said his middle school team has been holding early practices, while the high schoolers have been doing “four-on-ones,” or swimming drills that rely on four leg kicks for each arm stroke.
“Swimming in Georgia, middle school and high school, is the same timeline. But middle school is not a GHSA [Georgia High School Association] sanctioned timeline, so we can technically swim year round, kind of like how tennis plays a different season than the high school,” he clarified.
Maloney said his goal is to hold middle school swim meets in the months of September, August and early October.
“My hope for moving forward is we could have a facility like Pinetree where we could get started in August, and we could convince a few other mountain schools to start their swim season earlier,” he said.
A four-month season starting in August or September means the middle school team doesn’t have to worry as much about the conditions in December or January.
Maloney is also optimistic that the system will explore more “creative ways” to make the facility operable year-round, including possibly purchasing an insulated pool cover in the absence of a full enclosure, or bubble.
“Essentially with any outdoor heated pool facility, if you don’t have an enclosed environment you would put a cover over the water when you’re not using it, kind of like a hot tub cover that keeps the water insulated and warm. And when you want to swim you pull that cover off, the kids swim, and you put the cover back on,” he said.
Maloney said this year will be an experiment of sorts to see exactly how far into the fall the swim season can realistically be extended.
“We will have some data this year to project out to the following season. So it’s a little bit of a guinea pig year, but if the weather is unseasonably warm that means a longer season or a week or two in December where it’s super cold—maybe we don’t swim those two weeks or we go to a different facility. It’s not perfect, but obviously it’s better than nothing,” he added.
PINETREE PUSH
On Monday morning, The Nugget caught up with Ray to find out if an official start time for the project had been scheduled yet.
“They’re actually here today installing,” Ray confirmed happily.
When asked whether he anticipates having to provide any additional staff to keep the Pinetree pool open for school-sanctioned events, Ray said that shouldn’t be necessary.
“We always have someone here, every day of the week. We’re open every day,” he replied.
In the event that a team does want to hold practice at an unusual time, he said a member of management would simply need to stop by to unlock the building and check the chemicals.
“The way the IGA is written, they are responsible for the lifeguards and the supervision of the lifeguards. We are just responsible for the water,” Ray said.
Ray explained that the heating unit is being installed in Pinetree’s pump room, not outside on the pool deck, although that is not the case for every outdoor pool.
“We just have a nice, big pool house. The original plan left room in this space for a heater,” Ray said.
Gas to power the heater has already been run from the road to the back of the building.
“The gas contractor will have to come in and get it from the meter on the back side of the building to the heater,” he added. “It’s coming together nicely.”