Sacramento’s Southside Park Pool will remain closed next month. Why hasn’t renovation work begun?

Rosalio Ahumada
·2 min read
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The Southside Park Pool that has been closed for two years will not reopen next month because Sacramento city officials have not yet received approval for a contract bid to make needed renovations.

The centralized location of the Southside pool at 2107 Sixth St. allows it to serve many residents from nearby underprivileged neighborhoods. Nearly a year ago, officials announced state funding was secured for the repairs and reopen it this summer. But now it’s unclear when exactly it will reopen.

City officials are working to receive City Council approval for the construction contract, and they expect that will happen in the coming weeks, said Gabby Miller, a city spokeswoman.

Once the contract is approved, construction can begin to make the pool repairs that include resurfacing and leak repair. Miller said they anticipate the repair work can begin early next month.

A view of the closed Southside Park pool on Wednesday, June 8, 2023 after Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, and Sacramento City Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela announced a state check for $500,000 that will help resurface it. A plan is in the works to transport its neighbors to other pools in the city.
A view of the closed Southside Park pool on Wednesday, June 8, 2023 after Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, and Sacramento City Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela announced a state check for $500,000 that will help resurface it. A plan is in the works to transport its neighbors to other pools in the city.

The city still expects to reopen the Southside pool at some point this summer, but Miller said they don’t have an exact date for when the pool will become available again to residents.

“Staff will work with the contractor to complete the work as soon as possible,” Miller said in an email Tuesday afternoon.

City officials closed the Southside pool early in the summer of 2022 to replace the fiberglass lining, which had caused swimmers to break out in rashes. With construction costs on other projects higher than anticipated, though, it wasn’t immediately refurbished.

Last summer, Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, announced he was able to find $500,000 in California’s budget to complete the renovations and reopen the pool this summer. McCarty emphasized the need for community pools — not only as a place where children can learn how to swim but as a way to deter children from jumping into nearby rivers.

Southside Park Neighborhood Association member Marni Leger helps Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, hold a replica check on Wednesday, June 8, 2023, for $500,000 from the state to help reopen the closed Southside Park pool. Recreation manager Jackie Beecham and Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, right, join in the announcement. The pool will be closed this summer until the project is complete.

At the same news conference last year, City Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela said city staff had “moved mountains” to find the initial money for planning the renovations, and her office found additional funding to help offset some of the costs. But the project to renovate a 70-year-old swimming pool still had a $500,000 funding gap before McCarty stepped in.

Sarah Cox, president of the Southside Park Neighborhood Association, has said the community pool was a safe alternative to keep children away from Northern California’s dangerous waterways. She said the nearest community pool is 3 miles away, which can be a 45-minute bus ride from Southside Park.

Sacramento offers other city aquatics locations for residents, such as Clunie Pool in East Sacramento’s McKinley Park, McClatchy Park Pool in Central Oak Park or the new North Natomas Aquatics Complex.