Out-Of-Towners Opt For Smaller City Pools
By: Brendaliss Gonzalez
Updated: July 5, 2012
"Because it has a slide and a diving board," said four year-old Aiden Kaufmann.
The new Albany city pool is attracting more than just locals.
"There are no pools in Clyde that are real family friendly unless you're a member so its just the best option to travel here," said Clyde resident Antonia Hailey.
Albany joins other cities like Brownwood to have a more specialized pools- similar to mini-water parks.
Officials from the Key city say there are no plans for getting a similar pool anytime soon.
They opted to build a splash pad instead, set to open later this month.
However, some say they still opt the longer drive rather than going to larger city pools.
"There's just a lot of people there and its not always just the most family friendly environments," said Hailey.
More and more families around the Big Country are willing to drive the extra miles to enjoy from the amenities that the smaller city pools are beginning to get.
"The kiddie area, the little baby toddler area is very attractive with the waterfall feature," said Abilene resident Brandi Kauffman.
Albany's close to $1.5 million project was mainly funded by private donations.
Organizers for Abilenes Spash Pad say it's just a more cost effective option at $600,000.
So, for now Abilene residents like Brandi Kauffman will just have to drive a bit farther to take a bigger splash.
"It would be great to have a pool facility like this one in Abilene for sure," she said.
Guests pay a $2 admission fee for the pool.
They can also purchase family summer passes for o$100 or individual passes for $50.
Officials say the pool will remain open through Aug.







