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Sgt. John Pinney Aquatics Center Updates
08/20/2025 - The Sgt. John Pinney Memorial Pool Replacement Project, No. MF24-02 Call for Bids goes live - See notice here.
09/03/2024 - A small crowd was present for a quick presentation by the Mayor and Council and a touching speech by Diana Pinney Smith, sister of Sgt. John Pinney. Diana recounted the story of how Pinney Pool first came to be. As the sun reminded all in attendance of just how valuable a refreshing pool will be in our little desert town, the Mayor and Council Members, alongside the demolition crew got to work on the demo!
Check out the highlight video below.
08/15/2024 - Invitations go out from the the City of Ridgecrest, inviting the community to a demo kick-off event set for September 3, 2024. City Staff, Mayor and Council, and Members of the Pinney family will get together to honor the final stand of the former John Pinney Memorial Pool with a quick demolition ceremony. Pictures and video to come!
07/19/2024 - Council approved a resolution brought forth by the Deputy City Manager/Public Works Director to accept the base bid as submitted by Resource Environmental Inc. and to allocate Measure P Funds for the Demolition of the old Pinney Pool and clearing of that site in preparation of building the new Sgt. John Pinney Aquatics Center.
06/20/2023 - Sgt. John Pinney Aquatics Center Town Hall #3 will be hosted by the City of Ridgecrest on June 20, 2023. This meeting will cover the most current renditions of the Aquatics Center design.
Download the slide presentation for Town Hall #3 here.
05/02/2023 - Sgt. John Pinney Aquatics Center Town Hall #2 will be hosted by the City of Ridgecrest Quality of Life Committee on May 2, 2023.
03/07/2023 - Sgt. John Pinney Aquatics Center Town Hall #1 is hosted by the City of Ridgecrest Quality of Life Committee on March 7th at 5:30pm. The community in attendance as well as those who have entered their input through the online survey are able to see some of the options/choices ahead, as well as plot mock-layouts for the lot where the new aquatics center will be. The public is able to participate in questions and answers with the experts.
03/02/2023 - City Staff meet with Architects and pool designers to hear initial thoughts on the scope of the project.
11/8/2022 - Community of Ridgecrest passes a general fund tax measure, Measure P, to actively participate in boosting the City's budget, to be used for any priority projects but with the larger hope of opening a new or renovated Pinney Pool.
2017-2021 - Fundraising to "Save Pinney Pool" with the support of the local Lions Club keeps the conversation and passion for the pool alive. All agree that our community is in need of a pool, Pinney Pool needs to be reopened. However, the generous donations to the cause do not stretch far enough to cover the cost of a renovation project for the pool.
2016 - Pinney Pool closes. After years of loving use and deferred maintenance, and an expensive lawsuit over ADA accessibility of the pool house and parking lot ramps, the pool is closed to the public.
1972 - Pinney Pool is Opened to the Public!
John Pinney was a local boy with a huge heart for his community, who during his high school years worked at the "Brewer Pool" as a one-man life guard and pool maintenance crew. The Brewer family had decided to open their own backyard pool to the community for public use, as there was no community pool at that time. John was dedicated to this cause. He insisted that the pool stay clean and ready for the children and families of Ridgecrest. John was known to spend the night in a sleeping bag near the pool pump so that if the pump acted up, which it was also known for, he would be nearby to get it going again. When John left to serve the US in Vietnam he requested that if he were to not come home, in lieu of flowers, the family would collect donations to replace the pump at the pool.
Sadly, John did not survive Vietnam. As he had wished, the family spread the story of his desire to replace the pump at Brewer Pool. However, support came at an amount far more than that which would cover the cost of a new pump, and instead a new community pool, Sgt. John Pinney Memorial Pool was constructed. The pool was the perfect continuation of John's legacy of taking care of the community with a cool and safe place to swim, long after his passing.