COLUMBIA, Ill. – There’s a swimming pool in Kelly Meurer’s backyard, but she and her family have yet to enjoy it. In March 2023, she signed a contract with America’s Swimming Pools of Innsbrook on the recommendation of a friend.

“Talked highly of the owner. Said that he was very reputable. That he had a great heart. Somebody we could trust. All the things we were looking for,” Meurer said.

About a month and a half into the project, Meurer says red flags started to appear. It started with the company dumping dirt where it wasn’t supposed to.

“After that, they put the pool in. When they did the backfill on the pool, we immediately saw the sides of our pool, because it’s a rectangle, start to bow in,” she said. “When we brought attention to it, they said it’s no big deal, when the concrete’s put in and the waters filled up it’ll be fine. And it was not fine.”

Meurer says more problems popped up once the concrete was poured.

“They went along the ledge, and they kept the curve so when you looked at it, you could see three and a half inches of a bow into our pool of concrete,” she said. “They tore the paint off the back of our home by using duct tape to tape plastic up to protect our siding.”

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Meurer says she shared her concerns with ASP Innsbrook owner Dustin Loeffler.

“He had the same company come out, rip the concrete out. When they did that, they dropped 30- and 40-pound boulders of concrete into our pool and left it there so the whole bottom of our pool was scratched side to side,” Meurer said.

The company sent someone out to attempt to fix the scratches. In June, they pulled the pool out of the ground and Meurer pulled them off the project.

“We’ve requested partial money, full money. We’ve paid over $57,000 and basically the owner will not return or answer any of our calls or speak to us at all,” she said.

FOX 2 contacted ASP Innsbrook owner Dustin Loeffler. He says his company is committed to finishing the project if allowed to do so. He blamed the concrete issues on a subcontractor. He says he’s told the Meurers they can choose their own concrete crew and painter to finish the job and repair the siding and he’ll cover the cost. In lieu of a refund, Loeffler says the company would add to the scope of work on the Meurer’s project. Both sides say they’re hopeful a resolution can be reached.

“Our kids range from six to almost 18, and we’re just wanting to make memories, have them have friends over. Them wanting to come back here and have people here and this has really put a damper on that. At this point, we’re just kind of like hoping for the best. Trying for the best. But it gets really old looking at this all the time,” Meurer said.

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