Preliminary findings raises questions about proposed pool features

During a regular board meeting May 13, DeKay reported that the construction management firm contracted by the board earlier this year, Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company, is working with the architects and engineers to formulate a cost estimate, but the report they have received so far is preliminary and that there is more work to be done before announcing the figures publicly and making decisions based on the results.

While park district board members await the final tally on two grant applications they applied for, totaling $850,000, through the state Recreation and Conservation Office — results to be announced late June — they are holding discussions on features they want to prioritize and how they can get public input on the decision-making.

In the meantime, DeKay is holding discussions with bond attorneys, he told county commissioners May 4, seeking potential solutions to address the goal of breaking ground in July of this year.

“The idea would be to fund the entire amount through the bond, and then get the bond so that we can repay as soon as we have money coming in,” DeKay told commissioners. “In which case we’d hope by the end of this year, we’d be able to pay off the greater portion of this bond.”

According to the park district’s record of donations as of May 13, the district has received pledges totaling $821,500, and to date, has received more than $67,000 in cash and in-kind donations. The pool project also received another $350,000 allocated to them in the state budget, a development headed by state Rep. Gina Mosbrucker, DeKay said. The district is also supported by a perpetual levy on property taxes, which covers maintenance and operations but does not support capital costs.

Geotechnical Report

DeKay reported back on the status of a geotechnical report during the May 13 regular board meeting. He said five to seven feet below the surface, there is a “quicksandy matrix” that needs to be refilled with appropriate material. DeKay said the percolations rates were “acceptable, but not great.” The survey found the water percolated quicker than expected, which will have an effect on the size of the retention pond, DeKay said.

DeKay also noted that at around eight to 10 feet are boulders underneath the surface. The findings drew conclusions for the board that, should they install a diving board — which would require a minimum depth of 12 feet — the cost of construction would greatly increase due to the demolition that would have to occur to break the hard layer of rock below the surface.

Architectural Report

Reporting back from a meeting with the architectural firm, Commissioner Benjamin Briggs said the architects were in favor of an eight-lane pool, since it would open the possibility for the pool to host swim meets, although the design would limit deck space. The architect also pointed out, Briggs said, that the current design positioned the diving board in the middle of the pool, which would obstruct the flow of traffic. The representative, Briggs said, also suggested looking back at the construction material and recommended a stainless steel construction — the pool district had favored a plaster-style pool, given its cheaper upfront costs — however DeKay pushed back, arguing that the change of building materials would put the pool infrastructure, namely its piping connections, at risk.

Discussion surrounding the findings

Commissioner Steve Harris asked the value of including a diving board, and Briggs replied that there is no specific data to pull from that points towards the community’s interest in a diving board. Harris suggested that the board start a survey to gauge the community’s interest in the pool feature, and anecdotally, Commission Lily von Mosch said of the teenagers she has approached to ask about features they want to see in a future park, “invariably, they all said ‘I don’t want a climbing wall. I want a diving board — that sounds awesome.'”

DeKay added that if a survey is happening, cost is one factor people taking the survey should consider, given the “exceptionally large increase” in what it will take to excavate to the depth needed to position a diving board at the deep end of the pool.

Von Mosch told boardmembers at the latest meeting that her priorities lie with the pool itself, and noted that other infrastructure, such as the dressing rooms, should be focused on for downsizing or minimizing expense. DeKay agreed.