BELLE— Pine Ridge pool outside of Belle is undergoing possibly its first media blast, wall and floor repairs since its 1964 construction, according to Jay Gallagher with Custom Pump and Well Drilling.

Gallagher was at the pool on Friday, along with Franklin County Mobile Blasting employees, assisting in making repairs to the 30 foot by 60-foot pool as part of an $8,000 update project before the summer season begins.

“Every upgrade we do, we try to move it more commercial-grade,” Gallagher explained. “Right now (the 60,000-gallon pool) barely meets the backyard pool requirements. They have learned a lot about building pools in the last 50-60 years.”

Gallagher was assisting in removing the pool’s old pumphouse and relocating it, along with updated pumps, to the inside of the concrete lodge. To his knowledge, the pool has been resealed with epoxy and paint several times over the years, but never sandblasted and recovered.

“You could take your fingernail and scratch the paint off — chunks over a millimeter thick would just flake off,” Gallagher said.

He also pointed out that as sandblasting has been discovered to be a health hazard, the company they hired to remove the old paint and epoxy combination from the pool uses several different methods other than sand to blast away the unwanted remains.

“He is using crushed glass,” Gallagher said. “Although it does still look like sand.”

A few years ago, members paid to have the pool repaired and a commercial-grade filter added. However, repair work was completed incorrectly and caused more damage than it fixed. The filter didn’t work correctly and leaked water into an abandoned pipe, causing a loss of nearly 3,000 gallons a day.

“We placed a water hose in the pool to keep it filled, but then it couldn’t stay warm, and we lost membership,” Gallagher said. “It was a lose, lose.”

The damage to the filtration system, subsequent leak and concrete corrosion has since been repaired, but Gallagher hopes to make an additional change that will hopefully make the water a little warmer for patrons this summer.

“We are going to paint the pool (Sapphire Blue), the darkest pool paint you can get,” Gallagher said. “That is supposed to hold more heat and transfer (thermal) heat to the water and make it warmer.”

The media blasting began on Monday, April 5, and has continued all week, with the exception of Thursday because of the weather.

“We think it will be finished in another day-and-a-half,” Gallagher said Friday morning. “Then we will begin painting it. We need to have it done to be open when it gets warm.”

Unlike most community pools, the Pine Ridge pool — which is kept open with membership dues and daily patronage 24 hours a day, seven days a week — opens when the weather allows.

“We try to be the earliest pool open and the latest pool closed,” he said. “Last year we opened in late April and closed in October.”

Memberships at the pool are $275 a season for family members, including designated caregivers, and $230 for individuals. A $500 membership includes the golf course.

“Another popular part is you can bring a guest for $5,” Gallagher explained.

 A mounted envelope holder on the wall inside the lodge holds cards where members may fill out a guest registration and add $5 inside before dropping it into a locked box. The door to the lodge is always open and monitored with a camera. The guest registration/lockbox is also monitored.

“We can confront people who don’t pay,” Gallagher said. “But keeping the place open cuts down on vandalism and things being torn up.”

The pool may also be rented out for events. Volunteers recently finished the side room in the lodge for parties or for members to eat inside at the tables or bar.

Anyone who would like to become a member of the Pine Ridge pool and/or golf course may contact Kevin Guffey at American Realty and Development for more information or to drop off their payment.