On their way home from church Sunday, Brady Barnett and his family decided to make a quick pit stop at the Rosemeade Rainforest, Carrollton's only community pool, eager to check on the progress there and to find out if it's any closer to opening.
"We have a 16-month-old that's super anxious," said Barnett. "And we want her to be in the water as much as possible. So we're very anxious."
The pool has been under renovation since last fall, receiving a $4.7 million makeover that voters approved as part of a 2018 bond package.
It was supposed to be up and running Memorial Day weekend. But the opening date has been pushed back twice now, as crews race to finish the project.
At a recent City Council meeting, Carrollton leaders did not mince words as they expressed their frustrations, telling the project's contractors 'this is a total failure on your part.'
"We want to go out to our residents and apologize for the delays," said Carrollton Mayor Kevin Falconer. "We've just lost all patience with our contractor. And we want them to understand what that's done. We're the ones that have to suffer and our residents have to suffer."
They said not only are residents missing out on the opportunity to enjoy their pool, the city is losing approximately $3,300 in revenue each day it remains closed.
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"We are proud of Carrollton and the amenities we have," said Falconer. "And this is one that we think is going to be spectacular. Unfortunately, we can't get it to them for another several weeks."
Frisco based Gold Medal Pools is the general contractor on the project.
Josh Sandler, the company's President and CEO, said he hears everybody's concerns loud and clear.
"Believe me when I say we're as anxious to get them swimming as they are," said Sandler.
He said the delays are frustrating for him as well, noting his company is being penalized $1,500 each day the project is delayed beyond the original completion date.
But he insists it's not for a lack of effort.
He said weather is the primary reason for the delays -- pointing to 100 days of rain since they began construction last September.
"That's extreme weather," said Sandler. "I've built in Texas for years and years. That's not normal. And that's been a challenge, especially on the front end of the project. And when it rains that much it's very hard to do work, which ultimately ends up in delays towards the end."
He said design changes made by the city and the city's consultants have also affected their timeline.
But he feels confident they'll be able to get the work done by July 26.
"We've been in this community a long time," said Sandler. "We care about the people. We care about the project. And we've literally been working seven days a week as weather permits to finish this."
The Barnetts say they look forward to the day they can walk through the front gate.
"Hopefully we can come out here and get a little bit of time before the end of the summer," said Barnett.
As long as construction on the project is done by July 26, the city says it can open the pool August 2.
Gold Medal Pools said it's also working with the city to organize a special event for the community to thank them for their patience.
