People looking for a refreshing way to cool off at the Civic Center pool will now have to change plans after overnight vandals left damages that could cost thousands of dollars to repair.
Juan Mojica, Lifeguard:
"It's a real shame for the kids. There are a lot of people who come here every single day. It gets pretty packed."
It's a shame that someone broke into the Civic Center Pool and damaged the property.
Pool officials found the place like this at six in the morning with paint all over the floor and even inside the pool.
Trash was scattered everywhere and even the lifeguard chairs were broken.
Even the pool's slide had a trail of oil base paint leading to the bottom of the pool.
Bobby Santos, Aquatic Supervisor:
"I don't know. They might've been on drugs. Jumping in to take a dip is one thing but coming in and doing this kind of damage is too much."
"Due to the vandalism, Parks and Leisure will close the pool until further notice. They say the damage is so extensive it will take a long time and hard work to clean this pool."
Edward Millan, Parks & Leisure
"The damages outside are about two thousand dollars worth. That's for outside surrounding the pool. That’s just a conservative estimate on damages."
Damages could include draining the five hundred thousand gallon pool and cleaning the inside with a pressure washer to remove the paint all over the bottom of the pool.
"We're going to have to take water samples to see how toxic it is. As you can see there is plenty of paint in there."
Still employees can't believe what just happened.
"Most people are shocked to see how a pool can be vandalized."
"Something this big is something you really don't expect."
Parks and Leisure officials say they have a separate account to cover vandalism damages but this is more than they can handle.
The Civic Center Pool will be closed until further notice.
The swimming classes held at the Civic Center Pool have been moved to the Thomas pool from Tuesday through Fridays.