Wednesday, January 6, 2016

City Council to Make Decision on Hartman Pool within the next 45 days

In last night's City Council Meeting the Administration updated Council on the condition of the Hartman pool and the costs in keeping it open. Mayor Marchione concluded "the pool is now coming to the end of it's life" and asked Council "How long do we keep life support going?" Marchione requested a decision from Council within the next 45 days.

According to Rebecca Borker, City Maintenance and Operations Manager, the pool was acquired by the City in 2010 and a five year plan was drawn up at that time. In 2010, $375,000 in repairs were recommended and $135,000 were made. In 2013 a condition assessment was made by the city which identified $2.9 million in deficiencies. In 2015 the Recreation Master Plan recommended no further investment in the pool.  

Borker reported a city HVAC tech spends 20-25% of his time -- two hours a day -- doing maintenance of the boiler system, saying it would take about $200,000 this year to upgrade the boiler system to relieve the tech of his maintenance work. Borker said the pool liner, boiler exhaust, air handlers, and system controls were in questionable condition.  Pubic Works Director, Linda Debolt said funds were available this year to cover the $200,000 boiler fix.

Mayor Marchione stated Council had the choice of spending $50,000-$75,000 to keep the pool operating for the next two months or spend $225,000 to hopefully keep the pool running til late 2016. He asked Council for a decision within 45 days.

Council members Myers and Allen requested further review.  Council member John Stilin said "the ship is sinking and we are wasting money" on further investments. He suggested charging user fees to help pay for the $200,000 repairs. Council President Hank Margeson said one of the options was to close the pool and asked the public to comment.

Reported by Bob Yoder 

8 comments:

  1. Does the city own the land the pool sits on?

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  2. I recommend we close the Hartman pool and build something better. Our family drives to Lynnwood or Snohomish to swim, and our community needs an aquatic center, not a failing, and lame, pool that is hardly ever available to the community for swimming. Look at the pool schedule, Open recreational swim is not a priority for the operators of Hartman pool. I drive to Snohomish for swim lessons that are less than half the cost of the lessons here, and their pool is designed for all ages. The Snohomish pool is actually owned and operated by their school district, interestingly enough.

    Carrie Hafner

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  3. I have used Hartman Pool for lap swimming as do quite a few others. I can understand how you feel about Open Recreational Swimming.

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  4. I have been desperate to take my children swimming since we moved here. Yet none of the pools in the area have swim times available for the kids (even teenagers). I come from an area where my kids could train for two hours a day, but here there is barely a couple of hours a week available. With all the water available in the lakes and rivers, shouldn't swimming and pools be a priority? My kids have had to quit swimming as a sport to our great disappointment.

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  5. We should build a better pool here with more availability for swim lessons, and more options for open swim time for families. In spite of this being right where I live, I have never been able to actually use this resource.

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  6. Supporting a pool should be an important health priority. Providing a place for healthy physical activity for young and old, and especially those of limited abilities, should be a priority for a community. The Hartman Park pool was a frustrating place to swim--limited hours, and really choppy water for doing laps. Gold's Gym has a fabulous pool (and great hours for swimming) and would be a good model to follow. Golds gym is very expensive to join however. And it seems a pool is a very expensive item for a community endeavor. However, the payoff is a healthy community and especially, healthy kids and elders. I grew up going to pools outdoors all summer long and indoor pools all winter long; this was on the east coast and it made a lifetime swimmer out of me. Good swimming opportunities are sadly lacking in the PNW.

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  7. We have been going to weekly swim lessons here since my child was a baby, for 5 years now. It's close to home and provides a very affordable lesion compared to other options that are further away. If the city cannot afford to keep this pool open, I think we should make repairs until a new facility is completed. Get your priorities straight, city of Redmond!

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  8. I'd love to see a true recreation center in Redmond complete with a pool. And how about an indoor ice skating arena too? :D

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