Candy Matheny is standing in an empty pool with a painting rod. She’s trying to beat the rain and paint as much of the pool as possible.
Matheny oversees the Valley Glen Pool in east Tulsa. The pool has been closed for two years, but a group of volunteers from the Columbus Neighborhood Association is on a mission to bring it back to its former glory.
The neighborhood association owns the pool and offers resources to residents in the area near Dolores Huerta Elementary School.
“We have quite a few people helping this year, which makes it nice,” Matheny said. “But it would be nicer if more of the neighborhood got involved.”
The association will soon welcome neighbors back to the pool, with a grand reopening set for 1 p.m. May 23 at 2614 S. 106th E. Ave. in east Tulsa. You do not need to be a Columbus resident to purchase a day pass.
Cost to swim this season:
- $2 for anyone on opening day
- Daily walk in: $6
- Pool membership for non-association members: $65 per person
- Pool membership for association members: $50 ($55 after May 30)
Volunteers — and paid lifeguards — staff pool
Restoring the pool — and creating a sense of community for the neighborhood — takes a village. The need for volunteers and donations is a constant issue every season, Matheny said. Draining and cleaning the pool took about seven to eight days to finish alone.
Matheny is a part-time teacher and caretaker for her mother. She was officially voted the pool manager at Tuesday night’s neighborhood meeting, but has been overseeing it for longer.
“With the building being older now, we’ve just got finished repainting and doing some repairs that we desperately needed to do,” she said.
The only exception to volunteer work are lifeguards. The association will pay lifeguards $10 an hour this summer, with hopes of hiring four to six to work the season. Lifeguards must be 15 years or older.
Matheny knows volunteering isn’t for everyone, but making donations for pool items and concessions goes a long way, she said.
“Donations of concessions stand: drinks and candy, you know, whatever. That would be great,” she said. “That would be one less thing that we would have to buy.”
56 years old and in need of repairs
The Valley Glen Pool was incorporated in 1970 after the Arkansas Valley Development Corp. gifted it to the Valley Glen Neighborhood Association along with a small operating fund, according to Michele Elkins, president of the Columbus Neighborhood Association.
The Valley Glen Neighborhood Association eventually shut down, and the Columbus Neighborhood Association was established in 2009.
In 1984, the Valley Glen Neighborhood Association’s operating capital was depleted because of outstanding bills due primarily to the $950 liability insurance premium.
The pool turns 56 years old this year. The association is trying to update it so it doesn’t cost them as much to maintain it in the future.
“It’s an asset that we need to protect,” Elkins said. “Plus, it costs us money. We have to pay (for) stormwater and electric, whether we’re open or not. The electric is for a light in the parking lot. And so we have ongoing expenses and if we don’t operate the pool, we do not generate enough money to pay our bills.”
The association faced a surprise on opening day in 2023, discovering extensive plumbing repairs were needed. They faced over $9,000 in unexpected maintenance for the year.
That was the last time Valley Glen was open. It wasn’t the first time the neighborhood association had to keep the pool closed — the facility was only open for five seasons between 2016 and 2025.
The Columbus Neighborhood Association recently won a PartnerTulsa grant for community beautification. They don’t know if they will be able to accept it yet, because the association is a nonprofit organization, which means they have specific IRS guidelines to follow.
“It’s unfortunate that this happens because we need that money,” Elkins said. “But we better make sure that we don’t step outside of the lines. We want to follow all the rules.”
Giving kids a safe space
Association member Alex Martinez said the pool is a safe place for children and youth to have something to do in the neighborhood.
“It’s something productive, so they’re not causing problems,” Martinez said in Spanish.
Martinez said it’s also a place for parents to connect. Over the years, he’s noticed how people tend to shy away from gathering and don’t often know their neighbors a few doors down.
The pool is one way to change that, he said.
Matheny feels similarly. She knows people tend to stay home in today’s world, preventing them from meeting their neighbors.
She views the pool as a community space to build relationships and give kids a safe place to gather.
“When you’re in the pool, you meet people,” Matheny said. “Some people that I know now are my neighbors because of the pool.”
This article was produced as part of a partnership between the Tulsa Flyer and La Semana, a Tulsa-based bilingual Spanish-English newspaper serving Latino communities in Oklahoma.
News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
