Fort Morgan will never run two public pools at once. Riverside Pool, which the city started building in 1947, stays open through the 2027 season. The indoor aquatic center going up next to the Recreation Fieldhouse is aimed at opening in spring 2028, and the city has said Riverside will be decommissioned once that happens. If the schedule holds, the town gets one more summer at the old pool and then moves straight to the new one, with no dry year between them.
That handoff explains most of what's happening at 1239 E. Kiowa Ave. this fall. The building's timing, design and financing all line up with it.
Why the city is replacing the pool instead of keeping both
The decision goes back to the city's aquatics planning before the 2025 vote. The City of Fort Morgan's aquatics facility study page said Riverside would close if a new indoor facility were built, because running both would not be financially feasible. The Fort Morgan Times reported that before the election.
The feasibility outreach run by aquatics consultant Counsilman-Hunsaker said it more bluntly. It described Riverside's current features as "no longer physically maintainable, nor financially sustainable."
There's also a dollar figure. At a community town hall on Aug. 20, 2026, City Manager Brent Nation said repairs at Riverside would cost about $7 million, according to The Fort Morgan Times. That's what it would take to keep a 1940s outdoor pool going. The city chose to put its money into a building that can be used twelve months a year.
The calendar between now and opening day
Most of the work starts in the next few weeks. Here are the key dates in order:
- Oct. 20, 2026. City Council's public hearing and second reading of Ordinance 1339, the financing ordinance for the project, was scheduled for 6 p.m.
- Nov. 5, 2026. The city calendar lists an "Aquatic Center Groundbreaking Ceremony," booked on Fieldhouse basketball courts 3A and 3B.
- Nov. 9, 2026. Grading, excavation and foundation work is set to begin.
- Nov. 10 and Nov. 19, 2026. The financing is expected to be priced on Nov. 10 and to close on Nov. 19, when the city receives the funds.
- Summer 2027. Riverside Pool's last season, under the plan Nation described in August.
- Spring 2028. The opening target. Council minutes from March 17, 2026 called March 2028 the ideal opening. The city's January 2026 contractor document assumed about 12 months of construction and preferred an opening before summer 2028.
The start date has moved a little as the project went along. In January the earliest start was late November. By October it was Nov. 9. The opening target has stayed in the same window throughout: early 2028, before swim season. An on-time opening means Riverside's 2027 season is the last outdoor summer and 2028 is the first indoor one.
What the new building holds
The facility is a 27,000-square-foot aquatic addition attached to the Recreation Fieldhouse. It's meant to tie into the existing building and be used year-round.
The updated renderings shown to council on Oct. 6 laid out these features:
| Feature | What the plans show |
|---|---|
| Lazy river | Includes a rainbow bridge leading to an island |
| Lap pool | Listed in the October design |
| Zero-depth play area | Listed in the October design |
| Obstacle course | Listed in the October design |
| Waterslide | Leaves the building and comes back indoors |
| Spa and therapy pool | Elevated transfer walls, per the January 2026 design response |
| Outdoor patio | Large patio connected to the recreation pool, plus shaded patio spaces |
| Meeting and party rooms | Listed in the October design |
Some changes were made to keep the project on budget. A planned asphalt parking lot on the east side will be gravel. Sliding glass doors were dropped from the meeting rooms but kept by the recreation pool. The Times reported that the overall layout and the water features themselves didn't change.
The outdoor pieces are there on purpose
A pool that has been outdoors since 1947 is moving inside. Several parts of the new design keep an outdoor feel anyway: the slide that loops outside, the patio off the recreation pool, and the glass doors that survived the budget cuts.
At the Oct. 6 meeting, Councilmember Loren Boyett connected those choices to what people have told him about Riverside. The Fort Morgan Times reported that he said he appreciated the effort to tie the design to the Fieldhouse and to consider how attached residents are to the outdoor pool.
"I've spoken to many people that are really sad about this transition, that they have emotional attachments to the outdoor pool," Boyett said. "I think that once people get used to this building, it's going to be something to be proud of for our community and offer a lot more for the youth year round."
That's the trade the city is making. Riverside is a summer place. The new building is meant to be swimmable in January, with a patio for the months when Fort Morgan weather cooperates.
Who's building it and how it's paid for
City Council approved GH Phipps as construction manager/general contractor on March 17, 2026, at $27,260,505. Essenza Architecture is on the design team and issued the contractor-selection addendum in January. Before the vote, the Penny for a Pool campaign had estimated the cost at about $31 million. The March contract figure replaced that early estimate.
The money comes from Ballot Issue 2A, which went to Fort Morgan voters in the Nov. 4, 2025 election. It proposed a 1% sales tax increase to design, build and equip an aquatics center. As written, the tax runs through Dec. 31, 2046, unless council votes to lower it sooner.
That end date matters because the construction financing runs on the same clock. The city is using certificates of participation, a form of lease financing, structured to raise $25 million for construction. Under the October projections, the city would repay about $40.6 million over 20 years, at roughly $2.03 million a year through 2046. The interest rate was estimated at 5.09%, but the final rate won't be set until the financing is priced in November.
Interest rates rose in the weeks before the October update. Council heard that savings found during design helped offset the increase and that the voter-approved sales tax revenue is still enough to support the project. Nation said at the August town hall that earlier budget concerns had eased after the Cargill settlement and that sales tax revenue had held steady.
Making the most of the 2027 season
For families who grew up at Riverside Park, next summer is the one to plan around. The city's facility listing still calls it "Riverside Park / Swimming Pools." Nation's August comments put the closing at the new building's opening, not at a set date. The city hasn't announced plans for the pool site after it's decommissioned.
Between now and then, the change will show up on East Kiowa Avenue first. Groundbreaking is on the calendar for Nov. 5, and grading, excavation and foundation work starts Nov. 9. The site next to the Fieldhouse will look different well before the old pool closes.
If you have questions about how the new aquatic center fits into life on the east side of town, from summer routines to what's being built near the Fieldhouse, I'm always glad to talk, in English or Spanish. Reach out to Best Life Realty and let's connect.
