The regularly scheduled annual pool maintenance break will be extended by four weeks as staff carry out repairs that will extend the life of the facility.
Council is being asked to approve funding for the repairs at the June 20th meeting.
“As part of managing our assets, we regularly inspect our facilities and put plans in place to make needed repairs and upgrades,” says Anthony Haddad, the City of Penticton’s general manager for community services. “After reviewing the Community Centre’s mechanical room, a number of high and medium term priority items were identified for attention that will require more time to address than the typical three week closure will allow. The purpose of the extended closure is to get as much work done in one session to minimize further disruptions.”
The infrastructure upgrades, with a total expected cost of $600,000, will include:
At the same time, a structural review of the three pools will be conducted to look into historic water loss and to take advantage of the extended closure if any further actions are needed. This review will cost $50,000.
“This is a combination of needed work and preventative measures, as staff believe the best course of action is to tackle the work now and address any issues that may have not gotten proper attention,” says Haddad. “The Community Centre pool is an important asset for a wide-range of people and we want to ensure it is properly maintained and prevent a long-term closure. Delaying the repairs and upgrades will result in more closures and costly measures down the road.”
The pool will be closed August 12 and is scheduled to reopen on October 2. Haddad notes all the various user groups will be consulted about the timing of the closure. “There’s no perfect time to do this work but our hope is by giving plenty of notice and trying to accomplish the needed repairs in one spell there won’t be more interruptions to the pool timetable,” he says.
Should the review identify additional repairs, staff are seeking approval to fund any additional work from the emergency asset reserve up to $4.1 million, with Haddad noting that would allow for any structural work to be done immediately.
Other areas of the Community Centre will not be impacted, though the fitness room is scheduled for regular maintenance from August 9 to 11.