About 50 New Cuyama kids got to take an inaugural plunge in the town’s public swimming pool after a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 28.
Santa Barbara County supervisor Joe Centeno had the honor of snipping the red ribbon before officially declaring the Joseph Centeno Cuyama Pool and Aquatics Complex open for business. The Board of Supervisors voted in April to name the pool after Centeno in recognition of his efforts to meet the needs of the New Cuyama community and the rest of the
5th District.
Along with the four-lane, 25-meter pool, the center features a wading pool and water-play area, as well as a shaded patio, outdoor showers, and a 30-space parking lot. The pool will serve as a cool resource for residents of the Cuyama Valley, where summer temperatures often exceed 100 degrees.
The center will be open seven days a week, from 1 to 7:30 p.m., until Sept. 6 (Labor Day). Open swimming is available from 1 to 4 p.m., followed by lap swimming from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission costs $6 per session, or swimmers can purchase 10-hour cards for $20. Lifeguards will be on duty when the pool is open.
According to a press release from the county, initial design concepts for the complex began in 2006 as part of a master plan to upgrade community facilities serving the 800-person town of New Cuyama. Santa Maria-based companies S.J. Deferville and Bobby Jones General Engineering completed construction in August 2009. Total project costs were estimated at about $2.4 million.
The Joseph Centeno Cuyama Pool and Aquatics Complex is located at 290 Wasioja St., near Richardson Park, in New Cuyama.
For more information, visit countyofsb.org/parks.
—Amy Asman
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This article appears in Jun 3-10, 2010.