CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Parker Pool in Flour Bluff is almost ready to welcome swimmers again, thanks to county funding and dedicated volunteers.
"This is the neighborhood pool, this is the one everybody can go to. And when you come out here and you hear all them little kids squealing and going on, it's really the payback," said Mark Thomas.
At Parker Pool in Flour Bluff, volunteers like Mark Thomas have been working for years to keep this community amenity afloat. Thomas and other members of Coastal Bend Friends of Aquatics stepped in when the city closed the pool over 10 years ago.
"We went in as the Flour Bluff Business Association. And then we split our bunch off from there. We worked on a shoestring budget for a couple of years," said Thomas.
After years of volunteer efforts, Nueces County stepped in to help with major renovations, using ARPA funds awarded to Precinct 4, which KRIS6 News reported on in February 2024.
"We're doing great. We're on budget, we're on time. We're still planning on a Memorial Day opening for the community. It's just, I mean, it's exciting to see this come together," said Chesney.
Nueces County Commissioner Brent Chesney tells KRIS 6 News the county closely followed all water restrictions for the pool given the city's current drought conditions. He says the most significant improvement is a new filtration system, replacing equipment from the 1970s.
"This is 2024, 2025. The other stuff was 72. And we'd shoestring that thing together for about as long as we could. It was very timely," said Thomas.
Chesney reminded that the pool will be open to residents throughout the entire county. For more information about the pool, click here.
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