GILLETTE, Wyo. — The Gillette City Council has renewed an agreement with Campbell County Parks and Recreation to provide a free swimming option to residents this summer.
With the renewal, the city will pay the county $40,000 to give residents access to free open swim sessions at the Campbell County Recreation Center from the end of May through August 2024, according to the council’s agenda.
“We appreciate the partnership that we have with the county recreation department,” City Administrator Mike Cole said, adding that the Parks and Recreation Board recently approved the renewal in its own right.
The free swim sessions agreement has been in place since June 2022, when the city first secured the option for residents shortly after the city pool closed for reconstruction. Completion of a new pool, however, was delayed early last year when the council voted to reject the only bid to come in for the project.
According to past discussions, the lone bid was rejected because it came in at $5.4 million, reportedly millions over what the city’s engineering estimate indicated the project should have cost. Hyun Kim, former city administrator, urged the council to reject the bid due to budget constraints, a concern that was echoed by some councilmembers who agreed that $5 million for a new pool was too much.
The project was to go back out to bid with the decision, which ultimately pushed the new pool completion date as far back as 2025.
