Proposed pool costs down to $4.99 million

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

As of Tuesday night, refined numbers for the City of Burlington to pursue a new community swimming pool have come in lower than expected.

With representatives from Ayres and Associates on hand for the evening’s City Council Committee of the Whole meeting, the updated pricing for the proposed project is now at $4.99 million.

Originally, the numbers were as high as $5.7 million, with the city committing to get the cost to $5.4 million or below for all costs associated with designing, financing and building an aquatic center. That is the not-to-exceed number in the referendum question that will appear on the ballot for city residents Nov. 8.

But with further refinements of both the pool structures and the pool building, the numbers dropped even lower than originally hoped for.

Here are the latest details on the pool:

• There will now be two different pool vessels – a zero-depth entry area that includes a children’s play structure, a handicap-accessible ramp, water jets and a current channel for water walking, and another tank containing lanes for lap swimming, a diving well and pool slides.

The second pool is currently configured two have two diving boards and two slides, with a maximum depth of 10 to 12 feet in the diving well and 3.5 to 4 feet elsewhere. The maximum depth for the zero-depth entry tank will be 3.5 feet in the current channel.

The two pool vessels will be about double the deck space of the current setup, extending deeper into Devor park but still clear of the sledding hill and the open park space below the city’s water tower.

• The new pool building will house an open-air but covered eating area next to a concession stand, a warming room that can be opened if needed during the summer, locker rooms, a family unisex bathroom with a shower, a single restroom accessible to park users, storage areas, a lifeguard break room and the pool mechanical room.
• The parking lot will feature 85 stalls plus a drop-off area, the playground equipment will be moved to the opposite side of the pool, and there will be fencing surrounding the pool deck that will allow for grassy areas. There are plans to also make the current park pavilion ADA accessible, rather than build a new structure.
• The tax rate impact is expected to be between 36 and 38 cents per $1,000 of property value, though depending on the structure of the loan, the numbers may fluctuate. The impact on the average city home valued at $179,000 would be about $68 per year over the life of the loan, which is anticipated at 20 years.

While the proposed structures drew compliments from the council, there were questions. Initially, Ayres proposed to have one pool vessel, but split it into two to protect against prolonged shutdown due to water contamination from feces or vomit.

The two separate pools would allow for one of the two pools to remain open while the other is cleaned.

That drew a question from Alderman Tom Preusker, who was told that the cost of the added infrastructure wasn’t that great by Blake Theisen of Ayres. Theisen also said that using two separate pumps and filters would make the mechanicals more efficient for each of the respective tanks.

Preusker also questioned the current channel and second slide as possible items to eliminate to save money. The second slide cost would be in the tens of thousands, but the current channel cost is about $200,000, Preusker said.

City Administrator Carina Walters said there is a high interest level in the current channel, and programming being specifically set up for it. When Preusker said that cost might cause the referendum to fail, Alderman Ruth Dawidziak replied that the cost of that single item was unlikely to cause the referendum to fail.

There will be public information meetings at Burlington High School on Oct. 5 and 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. to discuss the pool referendum and answer questions. There will also be a frequently asked questions list compiled and available to residents.

The Burlington Community Pool Board, the private entity that will continue to manage the pool, is planning to do it’s own campaign in support of the referendum. The city cannot promote approval of the referendum, and will only provide voter education information.

Alderman Ed Johnson said he had been on the fence regarding the pool, but complimented Ayres on the work it had done.

“You’ve done a nice job of making a nice place in Burlington,” Johnson said. “If they turn it down, they turn it down.”

Johnson then gave a hint toward his own feelings, adding, “Hopefully, they won’t.”