Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 21, 1995 TAG: 9503210093
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The county staff will ask the Board of Supervisors next week to authorize advertising for bids, said Randy Wertz, deputy assistant administrator.
"We're going to be pushing it probably to get it [open] by July 1," Wertz said. "That's our hope-to date. It depends upon the weather and the [removal] of the old pool."
The season for the outdoor pool - the only public one outside Blacksburg - normally runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. It was closed all last summer.
A valve designed to equalize pressure between the pool and the groundwater below it failed last spring. The overwhelming pressure from below, fed by wet weather, cracked and crumpled the pool, making it look as if it had been struck by a miniature earthquake.
The county filed a claim with its insurer, the Virginia Municipal League, after the damage was discovered in May. In August, the league's insurance carrier, B.H. Johnson and Associates of Richmond, agreed to cover the claim. The question became one of agreeing on the cost.
After seven months of negotiations, County Administrator Betty Thomas announced last week the carrier had settled for $484,081. The county's original replacement-cost estimates ranged from $250,000 to $300,000.
"We were disappointed in the amount of time it took to resolve a dollar amount, but we feel that is water over the dam and we are happy with the ultimate outcome," Thomas said.
In October, the county hired Siska Aurand Landscape Architects Inc. of Norfolk to design the replacement pool. The new pool will meet current standards and will be handicapped accessible, Wertz said. The high dive has been reduced in size and the shape of the pool will shift from an "L" to more of a "Z," he said.
by CNB