Park board gets rough estimate for pool work

By Editor | August 14, 2013 |

To Lisa Robbins, the Vandalia Swimming Pool is more than just a place for people of all ages to cool off on a hot summer day – much more.

“It’s a safe and supervised area for people to swim, but it’s also supervision for children who have no supervision during the day in the summer,” Robbins said.
“It’s a place for kids to come have fun and create memories. It’s an injustice for kids to grow up in a community without a pool,” she said.
But, for Robbins, who has worked at the pool for 34 summers, the past 28 as the pool manager, the facility is much more.
“I have swum here since I was 5 years old. It’s like a best friend,” said Robbins, who began managing the pool for the Vandalia Park District the same year she got a job as a kindergarten teacher in Vandalia.
Because of her history with the pool, Robbins was quick to respond upon learning that the future of the pool could be in jeopardy.
Robbins and her staff began fundraising efforts after a state inspector told her that something has to be done about the cracking and crumbling pool deck.
“This is our third strike,” she said. “The park district must show that it’s going to make some improvements.”
Last Thursday, park district commissioners got some cost estimates for replacement of the pool deck and other needed improvements.
And they got those estimates from two local contractors who both swam and worked at the pool.
The board asked Rick Cripe of Precise Construction to work up some rough estimates, and after inspecting the pool, he presented a “real rough number” on Thursday.
Cripe estimated that it could cost anywhere between $60,000 and $100,000, depending on the amount of work done and the bidding climate.
A section of concrete on the south end of the pool dates back to when the pool was built in 1953. The rest of the concrete deck was poured in 1984, Robbins said, and other work, including stainless steel guttering around the pool and the installation of aluminum ladders, was done in 1996.
In the last 20 years, Cripe said, the concrete “has been patched and patched and patched.”
The main pool drain is leaking, and Jack Summers told the park board he “volunteer all of my labor and materials” to fix the leak.
It would cost $200-$300 for a contractor to follow him with sealing the liner over his work.
Park board President Chuck Hutson reported that the park district can borrow up to $1.75 million, and that a 10-year loan for that amount at current rates would result in annual payments of about $123,000.
“O course, taxes would go up, and nobody wants to hear that,” Hutson said.
“We can patch it for a few years, but we might have to look at the feasibility at some time (of building a new pool),” he said.
That’s an idea that Commissioner Marjorie Blythe wants to begin looking at.
“We’ve Band-Aided that pool for many years,” Blythe said. “Why not let the public know the pool is on its last leg.”
Park Superintendent Gary Oldham said he could favor just letting the pool die its slow death.
“I think you’d be better off to bite the bullet (and close it),” Oldham said.
“Another $150,000-$200,000 will get you by for another four or five years,” he said.
About building a new pool, Oldham said, “How can you justify a $2.5-million pool if you have 17 kids swimming?”
But Robbins said that that’s just not an accurate figure. That’s about how many were in the pool on Monday afternoon, when it was cloudy and rainy.
“Look at the weather and look at how many are still here,” Robbins said. “That’s how much some of them want to be here.”
Robbins said that so far this summer, the pool has averaged 108 people a day. At the final Moonlight Madness of the year last Friday, there were 397 people there.
In an eight-hour day, the pool can have between 200 and 300 visitors.
The community, Robbins said, must also consider that the pool is more than a place to swim.
“It’s also a place of employment,” she said.
The staff includes seven full-time workers, including Robbins, four lifeguards, a cashier and a custodial worker. The staff also includes 17 substitute lifeguards and three substitute cashiers.
That staff stepped forward to begin raising money for work on the pool after the state inspector delivered the bad news.
During some brainstorming, someone mentioned that Walmart sells balloons to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network.
“That’s how we started the footprint,” she said, referring to the pool staff’s project of selling $1 footprints that bear the buyer’s names. Those footprints are on displays around the pool facility.
While many people can’t donate significant amounts, she said, “Most people are willing to give a dollar.
“Some people have bought 10 footprints, some have bought $50,” Robbins said. “Somebody will come in and say, ‘You taught my kid to swim – here’s $10.’”
The pool staff is also selling T-shirts for $10, with $2 from each sale going toward work on the pool, and $2 bracelets.
“One person came in and bought two T-shirts and then gave us $20 for footprints,” Robbins said. “She said, “My kids learned to swim here, and it’s time to give back.”
The staff also plans to hold a “Footstand” booth during Corn Day in downtown Vandalia in September.
“I can’t tell you how many kids I’ve watched at the pool and then years later, see them bring their kids here.
“That’s what so nice – they remember what a fun place this is, what a safe place it is, and they want to bring their kids here,” Robbins said.
Often, she said, people in the community forget all of the things offered by the pool and its staff.
Those include:
• Swimming lessons for children age 4 and over.
• Private swimming lessons for all ages.
• Adult lessons for age 14 and over.
• Parent-tot swimming program for children ages 6 month-3 years.
• Private parties for birthdays, church groups and various youth groups, as well as the First National Bank Community Pool Party.
• Moonlight Madness once a month. “This is something that allows residents to bring their kids by here and enjoy a parents’ night out,” Robbins said.
• Free swims from 9-11 a.m. on Wednesdays.
• Water aerobics class offered through the Family YMCA of Fayette County.
• Lifeguard training.
• Basic water safety training.
• Host Vandalia Community High School physical education classes at the start of the school year.
• The local search and rescue team uses the pool for scuba diving training.
• Staff helps Boy Scouts earn swimming badges.
• Water safety presentations to the local Kindergarten Readiness Program.