This spring, the Dufur public pool received a makeover after being resurfaced in a year and a half long project by the Dufur Recreation District (DRD), which received a grant of $181,536 from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s (OPRD) local government grant program for the project.
A government entity, the DRD was established in 1956 with the purpose of operating, maintaining and preserving the Dufur City Park, which houses the pool. According to a committee presentation to the OPRD local government grants advisory by the DRD, Mid-Columbia Economic Development (MCEDD) and the Wasco County Economic Development Commission (ECD), the resurfacing project is the first part of a 2019 update to a 2009 DRD Strategic Plan.
The project, which had a total budget of $226,920, was funded through the grant as well as a 20% match of $45,384 by the DRD, a requirement of the OPRD Local Government Grant program for a district of Dufur’s size (a population under 5,000). According to Ann Ferguson, DRD secretary and treasurer, the funds for the match came from a Pool Reserve Fund, in which the DRD annually deposits funds to build finances for grant matching purposes or “major needs.” According to Ferguson, the DRD applied for and was subsequently chosen for the grant in 2019, putting a down payment on a contractor in January 2020 with the intention of waiting until the end of the 2020 swim season. Before the project could move forward, however, circumstances such as COVID lockdowns and restrictions, as well as winter weather, delayed the process until June 2021, when the project officially began.
According to Ferguson, the purpose of the project, which also consisted of the expansion of a concrete deck on the north side of the pool to resolve leveling issues and alleviate tripping hazards, as well as the replacement of a galvanized chain link fence for a new vinyl coated chain link fence, included benefits such as saving time, the cost of materials, reducing waste and preserving the pool’s structure. Before resurfacing, the 83-year-old pool required annual maintenance. According to the presentation, this consisted of draining the pool, grinding and sealing active cracks and priming bare spots, before painting multiple coats of paint on the pool’s surface, not including the painting of the pool’s rim and the depth markers. The entire process, though performed by volunteers, could be costly and time consuming, as it was dependent on worker availability and weather.
“I don’t think we realized it was as much of a chore as it was until … several board members pitched in to help do it the year of … 2019. And then the paint would start to flake off almost as soon as you start using the pool for the season,” Ferguson said.
According to the presentation, after being resurfaced, the pool will only require occasional polishing for discoloration, saving cost of materials, as well as relieving stress on the pool’s ground structure as it will not be required to be drained and refilled every year.
Another facet of the project, according to Ferguson, included the relocation of water pump piping from the pool’s surface to underneath the concrete. While costing some of the pool’s depth, doing so eliminated potential hazards such as individuals getting caught or injured by the pipework, as well as improving the pool’s uniformity.
While the most recent, the pool resurfacing project was not the first time the DRD has received funds from the local government grant program. Previous funded projects, according to Ferguson, included the city park restroom and shower building upgrade in 2010, and the upgrade of the west end restroom building in 2016.
Another pool upgrade project by the DRD, according to the presentation, was the upgrade from a heating system installed in 2010 that utilized a mixture of propane and solar power to an exclusively solar powered heating system in 2012, utilizing a $8,550 grant from PUD as well as a $5,064 tax credit to help fund the $17,700 project. After the upgrade, the cost of propane, which could range from $9,000 to $13,000 annually according to Ferguson, was completely eliminated.
According to the 2019 Strategic plan included in the committee presentation, future projects that the DRD will be focusing on include a redesign of the pool’s bathhouse, the placement of mile markers around Loop Road, and the installation of a splash park.
The Dufur Pool is open daily from 1-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. from the second week in June through the first week of September.
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