11-25-2025 5:35am

Underground Connections Begin for Alamogordo’s New Natatorium

Chris Edwards Editor

Mayor Susan Payne four years ago set out a vision to ensure that the City of Alamogordo put its financial house into order. Once that was accomplished to prioritize spending so that "Alamogordo could have some nice things for its citizens. She tasked city Manager Dr Stephanie Hernandez "to lead the city and create opportunities for nice things for our residents." One of those nice things was a commitment to create more recreational opportunities for youth and seniors as a goal for her administration. As such she is accomplishing those ambitious goals. In partnership with the Alamogordo School System and partnership efforts of Sharon McDonald and the commission a new park opened in District 5 behind Alamogordo High School. The Freedom Gateway Park a citizen and government partnership is scheduled to host a ribbon cutting in December.

And now crews along Oregon Avenue have started laying underground utility connections for the new natatorium project in Alamogordo, signaling that the long-awaited indoor swimming complex is moving from planning into tangible construction. The work, coordinated by the city’s Utilities Department and facilitated by General Hydronics Utilities, involves trenching and installing water and sewer lines to prepare the site north of the Alamogordo Recreation Center.

Much of the preliminary underground work is being conducted by General Hydronics Utilities, as an addition to the Oregon Avenue rehabilitation water line and road improvements. GHU is a local contractor owned by Edwin Boles and Charles Martin specializing in municipal water and sewer infrastructure. Their crews are currently installing the deep underground critical piping and drainage systems that will serve as the backbone of the facility. City engineers emphasized that this stage is essential: without the underground connections, foundation and building construction cannot proceed.

The natatorium, approved by commissioners, is designed to replace the aging city pool. The new facility will provide year-round indoor swimming, improved accessibility, and modern amenities for families, seniors, and school swim teams. City officials have emphasized that the project is being funded through existing mechanisms, avoiding new tax increases.

Community members have expressed both excitement and caution. Supporters highlight the health, fitness, and recreational benefits of year-round swimming, and the benefits to youth and the elderly.

The natatorium is expected to become a centerpiece of Alamogordo’s recreational offerings, providing a safe and modern space for aquatic activities regardless of weather. With underground connections now in progress under the direction of General Hydronics Utilities, residents can anticipate visible construction in the coming months.

The work that has begun on the new indoor pool and the planned ribbon cutting for the Freedom Gateway Monument show government and private partnerships at their best building a better community and brings Mayor Paynes vision of "Alamogordo having nice things" to a reality.