Kent city officials plan about $250,000 worth of repairs this year to add another five years of life to the Kent Meridian Pool.
“With the needed repairs, we are eking out more life in the pool,” said Jeff Watling, city parks director, on Tuesday at a City Council workshop.
City officials would like to build a new aquatic center once funding can be found. The Council did not take any action last year on staff proposals to submit a property tax measure to voters to build a new facility.
The Council wanted to give city staff more time to pursue a funding partner for either a $48 million aquatic center or a scaled-back $22 million facility on 14 acres south of West Meeker Street and east of Naden Avenue.
“We are still seeking creative ways to find funding,” Watling said. “But the hurdle remains on how we find funding. When we have something tangible, we’ll come back (to the Council).”
City officials are looking for a facility to replace the Kent Meridian Pool, built in 1972. The city took over operation of the pool from King County in 2003. The Council directed city staff at that time to pursue a long-term solution to replace the aging facility.
The Council adopted a 2009 city budget that included the cost of repairs to the pool.
“We have an existing pool we need to maintain to assure a few more years of life,” Watling said.
The City will spend about $130,000 to repair the facility’s heating, ventilating and air-conditioning units during the third quarter of 2009. Another $100,000 will go toward replacing the temperature controls (with digital controls) for the air-handling units and heating system. The pool will remain open during those repairs.
But city officials plan to close the pool for up to three weeks in April to replace drain covers in the pool as well as to paint the facility.
The city will spend about $15,000 to replace the drain covers and another $6,000 to $8,000 for the painting.
The drain covers must be replaced in order to comply with a new federal regulation, Watling said.
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act promotes the safe use of public and private pools, spas and hot tubs by imposing mandatory federal requirements to avoid suction entrapment of people in the drains.
Because work crews must drain the pool to replace the drains, the pool also will be painted at that time.
“The pool bottom is dirty,” Watling said. “It is not at a level of service that we put the rest of our services at.”
City officials will work with swim clubs and other groups that use the Kent pool to find alternate facilities during the closure.
Councilwoman Jamie Danielson asked Watling at the workshop just how long the repairs could extend the life of the pool.
“It gives us a five-year window,” Watling said. “It’s not a deluxe 10- or 20-year lifespan.”
Councilman Ron Harmon told Watling that he had heard if the boiler at the pool fails, the facility will need to be shut down.
Watling responded that repairs have been done to the boiler and that it should last another five years, according to a study done last year for the city by McKinstry Co., a Seattle mechanical construction and engineering firm.
City officials are in the process to negotiate with the Kent School District on extending the lease for the pool, which is on school district property, Watling said. That lease expires in May 2011.
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