The Mt. Carmel City Council got their first look at an eye-opening evaluation of the City Pool. The 66-page evaluation by Burbach Aquatics of Platteville, Wisconsin outlined a litany of issues with the facility built in 1937 as a WPA era project.
Among the deficiencies pointed out in the evaluation were the pool losing 5,000 to 6,000 gallons of water a day when it’s full; the existing main pool is in poor condition requiring patching and painting the main pool floor every year; the zero depth entry slope does not meet code requirement; and the concrete around the pool was deemed to be in poor condition as well. Several aspects of the pool also fail to meet ADA requirements including two points of ADA accessibility needed into and out of the pool; sidewalks leading up to the bathhouse from the parking lot are non-ADA compliant; and the service counter height is too tall.
Mechanically, the pool facility is also in poor condition with the piping and filtration system needing replaced. In conclusion,
Burbach reported that given the condition of the pool vessels, pool mechanical system, and the bathhouse, the city should consider repairing or replacing with the estimated price tag set at $11,388,000 to replace the facility.
Mayor Joe Judge stressed that the report from Burbach is simply a feasibility study and the city remains a long way from making a decision about the future of the Mt. Carmel City Pool, which he stressed would be open this summer. He said the estimate for a new concept pool is based on the current pool’s size of almost 1 million gallons.
The city’s pool committee will continue to consider the report from Burbach and look into options and how those might be financed.
