Ledes from the Land of Enchantment

Bicentennial Pool work underway, with hopes to finish during summer | Local News

The refurbishment of the bicentennial pool looks more like a rebuilding project.

Workers have already dismantled and removed the shell of the pool at the Alto Street facility and are now digging up old materials and equipment as part of a seven-month job due to be completed this summer.

Santa Fe City Council approved a nearly $ 2 million contract with Davenport Construction Management in October to rebuild the city’s only public outdoor swimming pool, built in the 1970s and showing its age in recent years.

The project is divided into three phases – one month of dismantling, six months of reconstruction and two months of renovation and modernization of the building and the facilities of the pool.

City officials said rebuilding would likely be completed in June or July. The pool usually opens during Memorial Day weekend each year.

Public Works Directorate Regina Wheeler said Tuesday she was “grateful” for the council’s approval of the funds when it became clear the bicentennial pool needed major repairs.

The pool never underwent any major restoration, Wheeler said.

The agreement does not include the cost of the third phase of the project, which includes installing new doors, stucco and paint for the facility’s building, as well as modernizing the mechanical and chemical systems. Cosmetic and structural improvements to the center’s “dead pool” are also required.

The city plans to add a new waterslide, back flags, and privacy screens.

This phase of the project is expected to cost $ 252,400 and will be funded when the money is available, Wheeler said.

Public works department employees found extensive leaks in the pool’s plumbing and nozzle systems, as well as other obsolete equipment, in February, according to a presentation to the council. The facility was found to be leaking 130,000 gallons of water per month, which employees were trying to fix for the 2021 summer season.

Some fixes were completed in time for last summer’s bathing season, but not enough to fix leaks in the plumbing system. This resulted in a council decision in June to close the pool for the summer and fund repairs.

The council also considered building a new outdoor water center on the south side of the city for between $ 7.7 million and $ 15 million. City councils searched primarily in District 3, the only one without a public swimming pool. However, this option has been discarded in favor of repairing the aging bicentennial facility, largely due to high cost estimates.

The completion of a new plant would have taken 3 ½ years.

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