When the only public pool in Silver Lake, Minnesota, opened up for the 2023 summer season, it became quickly apparent that the pool’s surface was way past needed some work. Dale Kosek with Silver Lake Public Works says the pool surface was tearing up people’s feet, forcing officials to quickly require footwear in and around the pool. But then state inspectors came in and decided that the pool would need to be shut down entirely until the needed repairs could be made.
The city got estimates for the work that ranged between $100- and $180-thousand, which would take months to complete, meaning that kids in Silver Lake would miss out on one of the most popular places in the community to escape the summer heat. When community members learned the bad news, they rallied to make sure the pool could be open this summer.
Around 30 volunteers descended on the pool and, using drywall sanding blocks, spent hours sanding the pool’s surface until it was completely smooth. It wasn’t a permanent fix, but it allowed the pool to pass inspection. But then they had another problem: how to fill the pool with 150-thousand gallons of clean water in a community with no water treatment plant. Kosek quickly got to work, making some calls to neighboring fire departments, who hauled in dozens of truckloads of clean water from nearby communities. And now it looks like the kids of Silver Lake will have a place to cool off this summer, thanks to the amazing community effort.
Source: FOX 9
Photo: Getty Images