Murphy – Year-round swimming will soon be available again in Cherokee County.
Murphy Health & Fitness is in the process of constructing a permanent pool enclosure over its facility, which is scheduled to be completed by April.
Owner Rodney Morris, who took over the facility in 2018, said the pool previously made use of an inflatable dome that has not been used the past two years.
“With the dome ... we were just running to the end of its life, and felt this would be a better solution for all of our members and guests who use our pool,” Morris said. “It was very expensive to blow it up, expensive to heat the air and it was a claustrophobic experience inside it. This is going to be a fantastic solution for everybody.”
Going forward, the pool will be kept between about 78-82 degrees year-round. While the new structure will cater to a wide variety of individuals who enjoy the six-lane lap pool, it is expected to be particularly beneficial to some of the county’s competitive swimmers.
Frank Bachteler, who coaches Cherokee County’s high school swimmers, said his program put just nine swimmers in the water this year. A dozen more were unable to compete because they did not have transportation to practice at a facility in Blairsville, Ga.
“The lack of having a facility here in town really handicapped (us),” Bachteler said. “We didn’t swim at all last year.
“This year, most of the kids who wanted to swim were brand new. A lot of them did not have transportation to get to Blairsville, so we lost out on a dozen kids that way.”
Murphy Health & Fitness’ pool ranges from 3-8 feet in depth – deep enough that it’s used by a local scuba diving club – and includes a zero-entry kids section that ranges from 0-2 feet.
The business recently agreed to a new 30-year lease with Cherokee County. Morris said the upcoming remodeling will cost about $500,000 and is being handled by Wells & West Inc. The new structure will include seven extra-large garage doors to allow in sunlight, and there will continue to be deck space available both inside and outside of the building.
“You can still kind of get that outdoor experience,” Morris said.
Another key change is the upcoming addition of a large coed dry sauna. Other renovations to the facility have already been implemented in recent months, including non-slip tile in the locker rooms.
Bachteler said he hopes to start developing a middle school program that will feed into a summer program and, eventually, into the high school season.
“There’s a lot of opportunity that the community, and the youth that are interested in swimming, could benefit from,” he said.