CHICKASHA – The municipal swimming pool in Shannon Springs Park is nearly 40 years old and complied with building codes and standards of its day – but not anymore.
“There are items that need to be addressed at this time,” consultants from Paddock Enterprises of Oklahoma City wrote in an inspection report last September. “We have detailed the problems that were readily apparent and suggested the most economical and efficient method for correcting them.”
For example, the 6,132 square-foot swimming pool does not meet federal Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements. Nor does the bathhouse. Nor the parking lot.
Parking should be a “firm stable flat surface with virtually no slopes” and with permanent pavement marking “indicating access and path of travel to the facility,” the consultants wrote.
Chickasha’s wading pool, which is out of service, is not ADA compliant. Wading pools are required to be “zero entry.”
Zero-entry pools, also known as ‘walk-in pools’, are a style of swimming pool characterized by their sloping entrance. Unlike traditional pools, zero-entry pools replace bulky stairs and ladders with a slope, creating a seamless transition between land and water. They also are referred to as ‘beach-entry pools’ because they replicate the feeling of being at the beach.
Some facilities are eliminating their wading pool “because of guarding requirements and manpower shortages,” Paddock wrote. Another option would be to remove the wading pool and replace it with a splash pad.
The swimming pool deck should have a “noslip” surface.
For a variety of reasons the swimming pool, which ranges in depth from 2’6” to 13’0” and holds 236,809 gallons of water, loses more than 15,000 gallons per day.
Repairs to inlet piping have been performed in the past at numerous locations to fix leaks, and branch arms from the trunk line to the pool wall “are failing.” Gutter piping has failed and ought to be replaced.
Expansion joints in the perimeter concrete decking also have failed, allowing moisture to “pass through to the subgrade,” and in some areas weeds are growing in expansion joints. The joints “should be redone using backer rod and polyurethane caulking.”
The pool’s filter system is “showing its age,” the consultants noted. The 96-inch sand filter was installed in 1985 and has “minimal life left.”
The chlorine disinfectant feed system was inoperable last year and should be repaired or replaced.
Water hydrants around the pool’s perimeter do not work; water lines to those hydrants need to be replaced. “You are required to have them to hose down concrete decks,” the consultants said.
The floor of the pool contains some cracks that are “causing no operational problems at this time,” the consultants said. The poured concrete pool should be “brush blasted” and receive a new coat of paint.
In short, “We recommend complete renovation of the facility,” Paddock Enterprises wrote.
Parks & Recreation Director Spencer Winzenried and Paddock Enterprises outlined four potential solutions to address the pool’s shortcomings.
• Overhaul the gutters and piping: approximately $135,000.
• Build a splash pad with a couple of water cannons, a holding tank, plus filtration, mechanical and electrical equipment: about $400,000. Shannon Springs Park already has a splash pad but it was built in 2007 and has outlived its life expectancy, Winzenried told Southwest Ledger last August.
• Overhaul the swimming pool and the bathhouse, including removal and replacement of all concrete perimeter decking and new filtration, piping and mechanical systems. Cost: approximately $2.3 million.
• Construct an entirely new swimming pool and demolish the existing one. Price tag: about $7 million, Winzenried said.
Last July the City Council voted to pay Paddock Enterprises up to $9,500 to examine the pool and provide a report “delineating deficiencies, condition and work needed.”
The inspection report was discussed Feb. 22 during a short meeting of the newly created Parks & Recreation Board. Since only three of the seven members (City Councilman Brian Gerdes, Dr. Jeanne Mather and George Hector Jr.) attended, no official action was taken.