BREAKING: Community Pool will not open this summer
Rain and supply issues have delayed its repair, City's splash pad will have to do
BEREA — Days of snow and rain, and difficulty obtaining necessary pipes for the pool’s plumbing have delayed completion on the pool’s rehabilitation, causing City leaders to conclude not to open it to the public.
“I regret to tell you that after meeting with the contractors and the engineers on the project, the pool will not be able to open this year,” City administrator, Shawn Sandlin, told City Council at this evening’s regularly scheduled meeting.
“We’ve had a lot of rain, and supply issues, but we do have a plan going forward,” Sandlin said.
He and Parks director, Priscilla Bloom, have been working to ensure there are free water-based and other activities throughout the summer, including re-fencing the construction area, and opening the adjacent splash pad to the public, according to Sandlin.
The splash pad will open to the public on Saturday, May 24, from 11 AM to 7 PM. After that, the hours are Monday through Saturday, 11 AM to 7 PM, and on Sunday from 1 PM to 7 PM. All admittance is free.
Sandlin told The Edge he didn’t know exactly how many days had been lost on the project, but he told Council that the contractors had asked to extend the completion date out another 140 days beyond Memorial Day.
Instead, Sandlin credited Brian Reed in the City’s codes department for negotiating the extension down to 60 days, although that’s without any additional contingencies. Sandlin told Council that even if the pool repairs are completed this summer, he anticipated that the season would still be too short to hire lifeguard and other staff.
“I can understand the delay, but why in the world would they just say we can’t open til Labor Day?” Councilmember Steve Caudill asked Sandlin.
The pool contract called for a Memorial Day opening, said Sandlin. “But that would have had to be a perfect situation. So, by the time you give them their 60 days, and then the [contract work] schedule continues, it wasn’t feasible for us to open.”
Sandlin added that leadership thought that closure was a better solution than trying to work around a short season. “And we will have a good plan going forward,” he said.
Caudill asked if there is restitution that can be made, per the contract for the forfeiture of an entire pool season. “That’s just incredibly bad. Even a month late would be better. We’re talking about 90 days. It’s insane.”
“I would have to go back to that contract and see if there’s anything we can hold them to,” Sandlin said.
Councilmember Jerry Little asked, “Is the contractor doing his job and not wanting a bunch of change orders?”
Sandlin said there had been only one “minor” change to do with which kind of pool pump was installed, and that was easily covered by the fifty thousand dollar contingency fund in the contract.
Mayor Bruce Fraley expressed his disappointment. “I remember as a young person when I was in school, before I had my license, [going to the pool] was some of the best memories of my life, and I don’t want our young people— and our adults — to miss out on their time there.”
However, Fraley also reminded the room that the pool is over 30 years old. “It was at the point where it would have to be shut down if we didn’t do something to get it repaired,” Fraley said. “My hope is that we get it repaired, and do it right, so we have it for the next 30 years. I encourage everyone to look at the long term.”
Councilmember Ronnie Terrill asked Mayor Fraley to ask Berea College if they would open their pool at the Seabury Center to the public. Fraley said he would work with Sandlin to “come up with a plan” but was concerned about the needs of the swim club (the Berea Dolphins) that uses the pool in the summer. “We need to support them any way we can,” Fraley said.
“It’d be nice if the College would let us use it, let the people have a pool,” Terrill said.
Here is the contract for the Community Pool repair:
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