By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The assumption is the pool is going away and the bathhouse is staying. That was the message from Brad Shores, officer manager at Wichita JEO, before the Great Bend City Council voted on a design contract Monday night with the city's on-call engineering service. The body voted 7-0 to approve the $30,000 contract with the goal of renovating the Wetlands Waterpark immediately following the 2026 swim season.
"Our schedule is achievable, but it's aggressive," Shores said. "We're trying to have construction start, say, right after the 2026 pool season. That's doable. It's very aggressive and that's probably not going after a lot of grants."
City Administrator Logan Burns said a pool committee will be formed to assist with decisions on the project. Shores said a committee of five to seven members is ideal though JEO can work with a body of any size. With Monday's approval of the design contract, Shores said work begins to present the first of three concepts to the committee.
"Let's give you big concepts, something very different, so you have two to compare with right out of the gate," he said. "They don't have to be tweaks. We can blow up the first concept we give you or do something very different. The goal is to land on a final concept."
The goal is to determine what a new pool will look like, what types of features it will have, the size of the pool, and the costs. Under the Qualify of Life Sales Tax Plan, the city has earmarked approximately $6 million for the project.
The Wetlands Waterpark was originally built in 1936 with several features added throughout the years. The pool currently offers approximately 12,000 square feet of aquatic space.