CHICKASHA — The swimming pool in Shannon Springs Park will be evaluated to give city officials some indication of whether it needs to be renovated or replaced.
The City Council voted to pay Paddock Enterprises of Oklahoma City up to $9,500 to examine the pool and provide a report “delineating deficiencies, condition and work needed.”
The main drain piping and inlet system will be pressure-tested with water, the pool gutter overflow will be gravity-tested, and the wading pool piping will be pressure-tested, the agreement provides.
Leak detection equipment and video equipment “will be used, if feasible, to help locate any leaks,” Donald Paddock reported.
Inspections will start while the pool is in operation, but pipe testing will be performed after the 2023 swim season “to enable repairs or work needed to be accomplished prior to the 2024 swim season,” he added.
The pool, concrete decking, wet well, main drain sumps, overflow sumps, cracks, deck equipment, and fencing will be evaluated. “We will do an itemized review, addressing problems, repairs and upkeep needed, along with condition,” Paddock wrote.
The pool was built “back in the early 1980s,” Parks and Recreation Director Spencer Winzenried related.
“It is becoming more time-consuming and expensive to open the pool each year.” Pipes that convey water into the pool “are breaking every year,” he said. “So we have to break concrete, dig down 6 feet, repair the lines – it’s a mess.” The pool is “like a car: it’s 40 years old,” Winzenried said.
“Should we refurbish or replace the pool? What does the town want?” With the Paddock study, “We will be able to get a game plan for future needs and options,” he said.