On a vote of 3-1, the Brownwood City Council on Tuesday, April 12, authorized additional costs to repair leaks at Wiggins Pool discovered by Commercial Swim Management after performing a leak detection inspection.  As a result, it may be the middle of June before Wiggins Pool will open for summer use this year.

On March 7, 2022, City Council authorized Commercial Swim Management to proceed with the repair to Wiggins Pool at a cost of $164,128.43. It was anticipated that there would be additional costs after the leak detection survey was done, but the extent of the repairs was to be determined. On March 25, 2022, Commercial Swim Management performed the leak detection inspection. Two issues were discovered that contributed to the leakage. The cracked and damaged skimmers were one. The larger issue is that a seam had been sealed with caulking and was failing. It appears that the pool had been added onto at some time, and the seam is what used to be the top of the pool wall. Commercial Swim Management did not charge the city for the leak detection and has submitted an updated bid for pool repairs in the amount of $184,981.99.

The City budgeted $150,000 for the pool repair in the Parks budget. They also budgeted $20,000 for improvements at Wiggins Park, making a total of $170,000 available in the budget. The difference in the amount budgeted and the bid is $14,981.99 which was approved by Council.  Councilman HD Jones voted against the measure as he stated his preference is to construct a new swimming pool at the location.

Commercial Swim Management has advised the project will take approximately one month to complete and is working to identify a starting date.  Wiggins Pool is located at 1100 Victoria Street in Brownwood.  Opening date for the 2022 swimming season is yet to be decided.