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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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North English looks for donations to reopen pool
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
NORTH ENGLISH — The swimming pool at Knoll Ridge County Club in North English needs some updates before it can open, and those updates require money.
The Friends of the Knoll Ridge Pool committee and the Knoll Ridge board of directors are asking for donations so the pool can open next year.
The pool was open in 2024, but not in 2025, said Cassie O’Rourke, one of the residents working to reopen the pool.
“Our goal is to have the door reopen this spring or early summer,” said O’Rourke.
State pool inspectors are requiring that the pool be resurfaced and have new lifeguard stands before the pool can open, said O’Rourke.
Resurfacing will cost nearly $42,000, according to Friends of Knoll Ridge. Two lifeguard stands will cost about $20,000.
The Friends of Knoll Ridge has other repairs it wants to make as well, said O’Rourke. Pump house updates will cost about $10,000, and replacing plumbing and the pool deck will cost about $95,000.
Friends has already taken care of some maintenance at the pool. Five residents, when they were presented with pool issues in 2023, formed Friends of Knoll Ridge, said O’Rourke. Pool manager Dani Render, Bri Clarahan, Cassie O’Rouke, Sarah O’Rourke and Amber Gent were initial members.
“We had to put in a new pool pump [in 2024],” said O’Rourke. That cost $10,000. Then the diving board broke. A new one was installed in the summer of 2024 at a cost of $7,000.
“There’s been a lot of stuff we’ve checked off this list,” said O’Rourke. Bathroom updates — plumbing and fixtures, new paint, non-slip floors — were completed in 2023 and 2024. The pool added a splash area for young children and replaced loungers and chairs and umbrellas.
“We didn’t want to see our pool shut down,” said O’Rourke.
O’Rourke knows how expensive a new pool is; she saw that story unfold in Marengo during the last couple of year.
Making repairs to the North English pool will cost much less than building a new pool. “Our structure is still structurally sound,” said O’Rourke.
Anyone who wants to donate money to the North English pool can send checks to Knoll Ridge Swimming Pool, P.O. Box 114, North English, IA 52316 or transfer money via Venmo to @Knollridge.
Pool history
The pool is located at Knoll Ridge Country Club along the highway at the northwest corner of North English. The property was originally farm ground owned by Raymond Cunningham.
In 1965, the North English community decided it needed some recreational facilities, such as a golf course and swimming pool. The idea was championed by Dr. Dr. Frank Mertz, Art Carter and Dr. Larry Milter, according to an article about the country club written by Andrew Miller for “Around the Town.”
English Valleys Recreation Corporation sent out membership cards to judge interest. It needed 180 commitments to proceed with plans, and that number was easily reached. A membership cost $100.
The Corporation bought the land on contract from Cunningham in 1966 for $223 per acre, according to the article by Miller. Most of the money came from a government loan.
The school board paid $750 to use the golf course and the swimming pool during the school year. The school could use the swimming pool for lessons during the summer, and children in the district could use the pool one afternoon and one evening a week for the regular fee if even their parents didn’t own a share of the club.
The pool is still owned by a private entity, said O’Rourke, but it’s open to everybody in the community.
“I’ve been in the community for 15 years, and its always been that way,” said O’Rourke. “We just charge a daily admission, or they could buy a pool pass.”
