Welch seeks bids for new Linkous Pool facility at Park Road site

Welch has moved a new Linkous Pool facility at 376 Linkous Park Road into the bidding stage, putting the project on a public timetable that will matter to families who use the pool each summer. The notice, dated April 9, 2026, sets a 3:00 p.m. deadline on Friday, April 24, 2026, for sealed bids to reach City Clerk Robin Lee at City Hall, 88 Howard Street, and calls for the bids to be opened aloud at 3:00 p.m. Monday, April 27, 2026.

The bid package shows this is more than a minor repair. It calls for a 20-by-30 building with a 6-inch finished concrete floor, a thicker perimeter, 8-inch concrete block exterior and bathroom walls, a truss roof with OSB sheathing and a metal roof, vinyl soffit, R-19 ceiling insulation, fire-rated ceiling grid and lights, vermiculite insulation in the blocks, 200-amp electrical service, fire-rated doors, front windows, showers, ADA commodes, locker installation, sewer connection, water connection and a small room with an access window.

The city also reserved the right to reject all bids and ask for new ones under West Virginia Code § 5-22-1(e). That means the April 27 opening will be an important checkpoint, but not the final word, on whether the project moves ahead on schedule. For Welch, the timing matters because the Linkous Swimming Pool is already listed as a seasonal amenity that opens daily during the summer from noon to 5 p.m. and can be reserved from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for private events through Welch City Hall.

Linkous Park itself sits within a broader recreation area that includes three picnic shelters, a basketball court, a tennis court and a volleyball court, making the pool part of a larger public space rather than a stand-alone attraction. In a city that describes itself as historically a coal mining community, the push to build a new pool facility points to a different kind of investment, one aimed at daily life, family recreation and keeping a long-used public amenity active in the summer months. The April 27 bid opening will show who is ready to build it and whether Welch can keep that promise moving forward.