Aquatic center fundraising goal reached; Groundbreaking scheduled for July 8
By Hub City Times staff
MARSHFIELD – Marshfield’s plans for a new aquatic center has cleared two major hurdles.
On June 23, the Marshfield Common Council gave its blessing to the final plans for what would replace the 86-year-old Hefko Pool on Marshfield’s south side, and also signed off on a recommendation from the city’s Board of Public Works to send those plans out for bids.
Also last night, Parks & Recreation Director Justin Casperson told the council a $3 million private fundraising goal for the project has officially been met.
“This is a very monumental task in a relatively short amount of time,” he said. “I cannot be more proud of the committee and the community for coming together to complete the private fundraising campaign. They established an aggressive time frame and schedule, and they were able to accomplish it even during a pandemic. I guess this reinforces the importance of the project and the support it received from the donors.”
Meanwhile, a ground-breaking ceremony for the new facility has been scheduled for July 8 at noon.
This is a huge moment in our history,” Casperson added. “If you haven’t noticed, we put a banner up recognizing Hefko Pool’s retirement after 86 years of dedicated service to the city. We’re finally retiring the Hefko name. And also on July 8, we hope to unveil the naming-rights donor.”
Casperson announced in May that a major donor to the aquatic center project has secured naming rights to the new facility. He also said recently other naming-rights opportunities within the facility still exist.
And he told Aldermen last night that private fundraising efforts will continue all the way through the grand opening, which is tentatively scheduled to happen in June or July of next year when the project is finished.
The council decided in early June to forego a swimming season at Hefko this summer, and instead bump up the construction timeline for the new aquatic center.