Parks Director Kristy Rich on June 8 shared an update with the St. James City Council regarding repairs for Tiger Shark Water Park.

The pool was struck by lightning on May 19 and three water pumps were damaged. There was a fan on one of the pumps that melted during the lightning strike. There also issues in the electric panels from the strike.

The quote to fix the damages at Tiger Shark Water Park came in at an estimated $38,275 submitted by McNew Electric, an electrical contractual company based out of Rolla.

Rich said McNew Electric previously expected the quote to fix damages at the park to be between $45,000 and $65,000 for repairs.

McNew Electric has previously worked on repairing water park pumps in Phelps County. In 2025, a fire damaged the pumphouse at the SplashZone in Rolla and McNew Electric has hired for repairs.

“What I’ve been worried about is a timeframe,” said Rich. “Hopefully we can have Tiger Shark Water Park back up and running by mid-July.”

Rich said the estimated timeframe to repair the water park is six weeks.

Last year Rich closed the pool down during the start of the school year because the lifeguard staff participated in extra-curricular activities. Rich said it was difficult to open safely due to staffing shortages.

“I will poll the lifeguards to see how many I have and if we have enough to open safely, we’ll look at staying open on weekends after school starts back through Labor Day,” said Rich. “But that’s only if I have enough staff.”

Rich said that she and Mayor Rick Krawiecki were excited to receive the update on the pool.

In other news, city offices will be closed on June 19 for the Juneteenth Holiday. The next city council meeting will be at 6 p.m. on July 7 at 1400 Nelson Hart Drive.