Mayor Derek Norton said Smyrna will rebuild the nearly 60-year-old Tolleson pool as a new outdoor aquatics facility and will complete a separate splash pad at Riverline Park this year.

Norton said the city examined an indoor aquatics option but concluded an indoor facility similar to one recently built in Henry County would cost more than $53 million to build and carry roughly $1 million per year in additional operating costs—an expense the mayor said Smyrna cannot afford. “Smyrna is simply not equipped to handle that level of expense,” Norton said.

Instead, the council allocated part of the funds originally considered for an indoor center to create a “state of the art outdoor aquatics facility” at Tolleson. The design, which had been put out to bid, includes an eight-lane competition pool, a recreation pool with a lazy river, a water slide, a little-kids splash area, expanded locker rooms, concessions and expanded pool deck space. Norton said the Tolleson project is scheduled to be complete by Memorial Day 2027.

Separately, Norton said the Riverline Park splash pad, a project intended to extend amenities to the southern part of the city, is under construction and expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Norton described the Tolleson decision as fiscally responsible and said it will deliver long-lived amenities for Smyrna families. The mayor also noted that the Tolleson design had been placed for public bid and that final costs and a construction schedule will be determined through that procurement process.

Ending: City officials expect construction timelines to depend on bid results and recommended following future council briefings for confirmed schedules and operating projections.