Cumming’s newest addition soon will be officially welcomed.

City leaders will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Cumming Aquatic Center.

The 50,000-square-foot facility has been open to the public since June 27, but leaders wanted to have a special ceremony to honor it.

"It’s an exciting time for us," said Greg Little, director of the Cumming Recreation and Parks Department.

"We wanted to get open so the public could use the facility as soon as possible, but we’re glad we’re getting a chance to do this."

Assistant City Administrator Steve Bennett said he and other officials have been pleased with the response to the pool.

"We’re tickled to death," he said. "… Just like with anything new, there’ve been a few bumps in the road. But for the most part, everything’s gone very smoothly and we are very confident in the staff we have out there."

The facility, on Pilgrim Mill Road near Ga. 400 at Exit 16, features three aquatic areas — two indoor pools and an outdoor leisure pool.

The outdoor pool features a children’s splash play area, lazy river and 156-foot water slide.

The indoor competition pool can accommodate swim meets from children’s leagues up to college-level contests. The inside instructional pool is used primarily for classes and may eventually add physical therapy.

The total facility cost $15 million to build, with about $5 million from the city’s portion of the fifth round of the county’s 1-cent sales tax.

The remaining $10 million came from the sixth round, and was paid in advance by the county in December 2008.

The facility opened to much fanfare last month.

Little said opening day saw more than 2,100 people. That crowd was largely due to free admission the first day.

In the weeks since, crowds have leveled out to about 900 to 950 people per day, Little said.

"The majority of those are folks using the outdoor leisure pool, but we’ve also developed a core group of people using the [competition] pool to swim laps in the mornings and evenings. And of course we have our classes going in the instructional pool."

The two indoor pools will be open year round, while the outdoor one will be open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.