City of Amarillo officials see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the Thompson Park Aquatic Facility project.

Officials with the city’s parks and recreation project told council at its last meeting that construction is nearing completion, pursuing the goal of this coming weekend’s opening day.

According to the public meeting schedule on the city’s website, notice has been given that a tape cut for the installation is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. Members of the city council, as well as the city’s parks and recreation council, are expected to be in attendance.

“The plaster is going into the pool as we speak,” Michael Kashuba, director of parks and recreation for the city of Amarillo, told the council at Tuesday’s meeting. “It is planned to start filling the leisure pool (Wednesday) with water. We will go through and start plastering the lazy river. The goal is to complete the construction… Friday July 23. We are working in this direction.

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This comes after the project suffered numerous delays, related to weather conditions as well as “unforeseen material problems”. According to previous reports from the Amarillo Globe-News, the facility was originally scheduled to open on Memorial Day weekend. It was then postponed to June 17, to the weekend of June 25 and then to the weekend of July 4.

The Thompson Park Aquatic Facility is a six-acre, $ 8 million site built by Wiley Hicks Construction Co. and is expected to include a lazy river, water slides, and open areas for individuals to participate in activities. outdoors. Conversations surrounding this facility began in December 2018 after a decision was made to close the original pool at Thompson Park.

Wiley Hicks, a representative for the construction company, previously told city council that 42 days of construction, including Saturdays, were lost due to weather conditions.

During the meeting, Amarillo City Council also accepted state and federal government grants related to funding the Amarillo public transportation system as well as the service required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Marita Wellage-Reiley, the city’s director of transit, said the system received $ 1,264,924 from the Federal Transit Administration as well as $ 518,225 from the Texas Department of Transportation.

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The city’s transit system recently announced its expansion to provide transportation to northern Amarillo attractions, including the Thompson Park Water Facility, Amarillo Zoo, and Wonderland Amusement Park. According to previous reports, these attractions will be via the 21/12 routes, which also serve the Hamlet and North Heights neighborhoods.

Amarillo city officials also presented two points related to the possibility of establishing a public tourism improvement district of Amarillo during the meeting. According to the agenda, this neighborhood would provide enhanced sales and marketing strategies to help drive demand for additional rooms for properties in the neighborhood, as well as for the city of Amarillo as a whole.

The next regular meeting of Amarillo City Council is scheduled for July 27. For more information on Amarillo City Transit, including route maps and schedules, visit https://www.amarillo.gov/departments/community-services/transit. For more information on the city of Amarillo, visit https://www.amarillo.gov.