MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — On Wednesday, a groundbreaking event was held in Mountain Home for the city's aquatic center, which one official said took decades and millions of dollars to get built.
According to Betty Ashcraft, the president for the Recreation Foundation of Elmore County, it took twenty years to save up for phase one of the building, which is estimated to cost around $3.5 million dollars.
"We are so excited about it because it impacts not only Elmore County but all of the people from Duck Valley Indian Reservation to Fairfield will have the opportunity to come here to swim in an indoor aquatic center," she said.
Lee Pierce, the director and vice president for the Western Elmore County Recreation District, said the indoor aquatic center will be used in a variety of ways.
"This indoor aquatics center is highly needed for our community. We've got everything from physical therapy to high school swim teams are all going to be utilizing this structure," they said.
Ashcraft said having an aquatic center in Mountain Home will help veteran residents in the county.
"Our veteran population, which is really really high in Elmore County, will have the opportunity to do all of their rehabilitation here rather than having to drive to Boise to get warm water therapy," she explained.
Mountain Home's new aquatic center will be located on South 18th East. Ashcraft said the center should be open to the public in 2022.
The entire project is expected to cost around $8.5 million dollars.
"We're looking forward to opening next year and having an incredible indoor aquatics center for all of the surrounding communities and especially for Mountain Home and western Elmore County," she said.
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