The Bonnyville Swimming Pool will remain closed through September while town staff continue renovations.
In addition to annual maintenance, the town is doing additional work, repairing issues revealed in the town's study of the pool.
“This year we have an extended shut down because of the results of our needs study last year. It showed a few million dollars worth of work that could be done but about $500,000 in work that should be done right away,” detailed Bonnyville assistant CAO Bill Rogers.
Currently, staff are working on changing the piping to the radiant heating system. They'll also replace the facility's main water service piping and the pipes in the main shower room.
Two major areas of concern highlighted in the study were the state of the roof, and the temperature control system in the building.
“The biggest chunk of work we're probably doing will be looking to replace the roof on the building because that really needs to be done,” explained Rogers. “We're also replacing the old pneumatic temperature control system with modern digital controls. That's going to give us a very reliable way to regulate the pool water and the temperatures throughout the building.”
When the system is updated, staff will be able to universally control temperature throughout the building. As it stands, each room runs on a separate heating system.
The town expects to fully complete the work that needs immediate attention, before the beginning of fall.
“We've divided that up into about 10 scopes of work, most of that will be done during the shutdown. It's going to make our facility much more convenient, comfortable, and efficient for its users,” said Rogers.
Completion of this year's work doesn't necessarily mean future pool closures won't be longer than average, as the town plans to continue upgrades.
“One of the things our needs study showed us was there wasn't only this must do work, but a lot of other work that should be done,” Rogers explained.
Over the next few years, the town will tackle a laundry list of items designed to provide residents with a more comfortable experience.
While some of the work, like replacing piping, won't show on the surface, the renovations will help the overall operation of the facility run smoothly.
“There's a lot of things that were suggested that people won't be able to really tell when the work has been done on the surface. Things will run much more efficiently though, and the work will extend the life of the pool significantly,” noted Rogers.
Expanding the classroom in the building and renovating welcoming areas are possibilities moving forward, though no final decisions have been made.
In the meantime, the pool is expected to be open for public use by the beginning of October. Whether or not renovations will force the pool to shut down in the future remains to be seen.
“The remaining work may or may not involve extended shutdowns in the future, at this point we just don't know,” Rogers said. “We're anticipating being open in time for our fall lessons schedule. The town is happy with the improvements being made, and we're excited for a good season to get going.”
