Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 2, 1994 TAG: 9402030025
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
The municipal swimming pool is deteriorating and needs a $63,500 face lift, according to Recreation Director Kenny Goodyear.
"Basically, the swimming pool is 15 years old," Goodyear said Tuesday. "What's been happening over the past five years is the floor is starting to crack up."
The city has been patching the cracked sections for the past few years, but Goodyear thinks it's time to get the entire pool resurfaced with new gunite, a smooth concrete used for durable, finished surfaces.
"It's getting to the point where there's nothing left to patch," he said.
The gunite, which also contains the pool's aqua color, is about one-quarter of an inch thick. It covers both the walls and floor.
"Even when it's patched, the weight of the water starts to crack other sections," Goodyear explained. "The lifeguards have to go in every day and remove the loose debris."
The concrete chips also have caused problems during pool maintenance in the summer when employees vacuum debris from the bottom, Goodyear said.
"You get chunks that get caught up in the vacuum," he said. A piece of concrete even managed to become lodged in a water supply line, and Goodyear had to call in the Fire Department to backflush the pipe to remove it.
Goodyear had included the cost of the gunite replacement project - to redo both walls and floor - in next year's capital improvement budget, but he'd like it done sooner. He said the job would take 30 working days. If City Council approves the project on this year's budget, he said, the pool could re-open on schedule May 28.
In an effort to gauge council's reaction to the situation, Goodyear relayed word of the problem - supported by color photographs - through Councilman Gary Weddle, who's on the Recreation Commission.
Weddle told his colleagues about it Monday during a work session.
"Children are swimming to the bottom of the pool, picking up concrete and bringing it to the surface," he said.
If council doesn't go along right now, Goodyear said his department would patch the pool for another season, at a cost of around $1,500, and put off the resurfacing until fall.
"We would definitely be able to open it again this summer, but it's not something you can keep putting off," he said., comparing the pool to a well-traveled thoroughfare. "Eventually, you do have to repave the whole road."
by CNB