Moment with the Mayor: The Condition of the Pool

Hi Neighbours:

Today I want to talk about the pool and some of the engineers’ findings. Before doing so, please consider this from Council’s Policy Manual (GP.0. General Governance Commitment):

The purpose of Council, on behalf of the ratepayers of Kindersley, is to see to it that the Town of Kindersley (a) achieves appropriate results for appropriate persons at an appropriate cost and (b) avoids unacceptable actions and situations.

We need as much information as possible so as to avoid “bankruptcy by a thousand small repairs.”

Background: The Kindersley Aquatic Centre was constructed in 1975. The walls are made of lightweight ungrouted and unreinforced hollow blocks with prefabricated steel columns.

The upper portion of the north wall overlooking the pool was enclosed and the mezzanine was added in 2004. In 2009, the Town decided to remove the existing building structure from GL-4 to GL-8 after concerns were raised regarding the structural integrity of the building due to steel corrosion.

Recommendations:

Based on the engineers’ visual inspection and desktop review of the existing masonry wall construction, it is recommended that the pool be kept closed until repairs can be completed.

The insulation filling the hollow blocks needs to be removed. The insulation has to be tested for asbestos. If the results show asbestos, another firm will have to be hired to remove the asbestos prior to work on the wall starting.

The walls are to be stiffened with reinforced grout poured into the walls. Masonry contractors think that the wall may be replaced rather than rehabilitated.

The fire escape stair should be taken off and replaced using posts and a different style of wall attachments.

Based on discussions, the repairs could be done within one month of the Town selecting a contractor. Time on site to conduct the repairs is estimated to be 1-2 weeks but is dependent on the contractor's schedule. The work might be able to begin within a month.

Repair estimates have ranged between $15, 000 and $150,000.

At the time of writing, we are still waiting to learn the scope of repairs needed for the filter lines.

Questions:

What is a reasonable cost to repair the pool? $25,000? $50,000? $100,000? $150,000?

What is the minimum length of time the pool should be open?

Are we ready to start a big push to fundraise for the development of Phase 2: The West Central Community Centre?

To ensure our children have access to a pool, should we consider temporarily busing our children to other communities for swimming rather than pouring money into an aging facility?

Please write or phone if you would like me to discuss a particular topic. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at the town office or email me at mayorenns-wind@kindersley.ca. You can also check out my blog at http://mayorjohn.blogspot.ca/. I appreciate your feedback.