LYNNWOOD — Swimmers will finally get their chance to dip into what will surely become one of this summer’s must-hit spots.
Doors open Thursday to the new $24.5 million renovation of the Lynnwood Recreation Center that features three new pools, two hot tubs and two gigantic waterslides — and
all the fun that entails.
Not fun, but necessary to mention: The renovation is financed by bonds funded by a 3 percent increase in the city’s utility tax on telephones, cellphones and pagers, and a 1 percent cable utility tax. Both of these taxes went into effect in January 2009.
Here’s a snapshot of the excitement by the numbers:
303,100: The total number of gallons of water needed. That fills up the lap and recreation pools, the wellness pool for water aerobics and other exercise classes. It also fills up the adult and family hot tubs.
208: The length in feet of the Lazy River. Riders can float through on an innertube or just walk their way through, said Bill Haugen, aquatics supervisor. The river connects to a small whirlpool called a vortex that swimmers can spin around in. Other new water features include the Wobbly Walk that wobbles back and forth and stretches out over the main pool, and sinks if someone stands on it too long.
50: The number of lifeguards who have been hired. A total of 80 lifeguards are expected to be hired by summer.
205: The length in feet of the longest waterslide. The second slide is 170 feet. “They have some translucent panels so you can see people go by from the outside but from the inside you get only a blur because you’re moving fast,” Haugen said. Both slides have clocks on them so riders can see how fast their trip down was.
5.8: The number of seconds that make up the current speed record for the 170-foot body slide. The record is held by lifeguard Trevor Eddy. They needed to test the slide for professional reasons, of course.
80: The number of people who entered a contest to be the first members of the public to go down the slides. Three kids were chosen. Vincent Southard of Bothell was celebrating his 10th birthday Wednesday when he learned he won. “I wrote about how I used to go (to the center) all the time with my dad and one day we got there and it was closed down,” Vincent said. “I wrote about how even if I didn’t win it’s still going to be awesome because I’ll be one of the first kids to ride on it.”
Emily Garat, 10, of Bothell, and Trenton Slocum, 8, of Edmonds, also were chosen. In her essay, Emily wrote that she loves to swim and wants to “go down the big, long, wet slides and do arm strokes in the huge pool.”
Trenton wrote that he’s excited to have a pool near his house and that he “absolutely loves water slides, diving boards, and rivers with currents.”
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
When to go
A dedication ceremony for the grand opening of the Lynnwood Recreation Center is scheduled Thursday from 11:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m. Free public swims are scheduled from 1 to 3 and 6 to 8 p.m. The center is located at 18900 44th Ave W.
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