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It’s going to take an additional $89,200 and another month to fix the Simpson Park Pool, city commissioners learned Friday. That’s on top of the $408,435 they already approved after a tear in the liner created a dangerous floating bubble.
Delayed opening: Replacing the liner began a month ago and was supposed to be complete within a month’s time. But unexpected damage will delay the pool’s reopening until mid-November, City Manager Shawn Sherrouse said during an agenda study session.
Sherrouse said the PVC coating on stainless-steel panels that buttress the pool’s perimeter were in worse condition than expected. In addition, the pool floor beneath the liner has areas that are “delaminated” and must be ground and patched before the new liner can be installed.
The liner system was still under its 15-year warranty. Myrtha Pools, which sold it to the city in 2013, is providing all the materials for the repair work. But the city is paying DRW Aquatics, a certified Myrtha installer, for the labor.
Closed all summer: The public pool, built in 1988 on the city’s north side, has been closed since June 14 — leaving children in the neighborhood with no nearby place to swim. The city has been busing patrons to Kelly Recreational Center’s Gandy Pool, six miles and about 20 minutes away.
‘Gross’ algae: Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts Director Bob Donahay explained that, in addition to the stainless steel issue, a felt barrier had been used between the old marcite wall and plastic liner. When the liner was pulled off, workers found the felt had been contaminated with algae.
“For lack of a better term, it was gross. A lot of algae — a lot of — I mean, it was bad,” Donahay said. “So they take that up and once they peeled that old felt away, we found a lot more damage.”
Concerns: Commissioner Chad McLeod said he was concerned about the Simpson Park Pool work overlapping with the planned closure of Gandy Pool at Kelly Recreational Center for needed repairs.
“I have a lot of swimmers asking me about that — the timeline, if it does change, communicating what the options are,” McLeod said. “Every time I visit Gandy, I get asked when it’s going to be closed and when it’s going to reopen.”
“There could be a two- to three-week gap — I’m not going to lie,” Donahay answered about the probable lack of a public swimming pool anywhere in the city.
See the discussion here.
Other pools: He said the city’s swim team, Rip Tide, has a verbal commitment to use Florida Polytechnic Institute’s pool and city staff have been talking to the YMCA about using its pool.
Donahay pointed out that Lakeland, the county’s largest city by far, is the only municipality in Polk County to have two public swimming pools. Bartow’s public pool has been closed for about two years because, Donahay said, the city lacks the funds to repair it. Haines City and Winter Haven are both taking their pools offline for repairs at some point next year.
Not heated: “At the end of the day, Simpson isn’t heated and, so there’s gonna be a point in time when it gets a little chilly to get in that water,” Donahay said. “People that want to do laps will have to use wetsuits.”
Mayor Bill Mutz asked how much it would cost to heat the pool. Donahay said at least $760,000, which would be prohibitive at a time when, in addition to the repairs, other costs are rising.
Cost increases: Donahay and his staff explained that the cost of chlorine has quadrupled in the last few years. This year’s increase is something he said they would “have to eat” because their budget for that was fixed a year ago.
However, Donahay also said he was pleasantly surprised that the cost to fix the additional damage was only $89,200, considering the extent of the algae infestation.
What’s next: The commission will be asked to approve a change order for the additional sum on Monday. The funds would come from the city’s fiscal 2025 Public Improvement Fund.
“That’s what we’re asking to do — go ahead and repair it and get it fixed as quickly as possible so people can start swimming again,” Donahay said.
Gonna be ten bucks a swim before you know it.