YMCA staff and members were excited when, after a 5-year fundraising campaign, their long-awaited new pool was constructed. Within two months though, they knew that excitement wouldn’t last.
“We saw a crack in it in September 2008 and as time went on, we were seeing the line continue to grow,” Tracy Walker, executive director and CEO, said. “Now there is a visible crack across about 98 percent of the pool.”
The YMCA pool is a six-lane competition-style with a 20-yard lazy river and a two-story slide. It was under a one-year warranty when the crack was first noticed, so Walker said she called Wynn Construction and the Association of Pool Builders to see what could be done about the damage.
“God was looking out for us,” Walker said. “The crack came through while the pool was under warranty.”
By August this year, the crack had become so bad the decision was made to close the pool until the appropriate next step could be taken, she said. Draining began Aug. 19.
“We caught the crack during the warranty time, but we didn’t want to take it down during the summer,” Walker explained. “The bottom line is, it’s our kids and our seniors who are the people who really need this year-long. So we have to decide, ‘How do we make it right for everyone.’”
To help make that decision, the YMCA is consulting three attorneys and has brought in a pool forensics expert to see what caused the damage and what the best solution is for getting it back to the shape it should be.
“We are painstakingly doing everything we can to make sure it is done correctly and that they get our pool up to the quality we paid for,” Walker said. “The most important message to our donors and the community is that we will get this fixed properly. We don’t want it repaired; we want it fixed. We want it adequately fixed, not just taped.”
With the assistance of a “good set of attorneys” and a few others, there have been a few proposals for fixing the pool brought to the table thus far, she said.
“Two proposals seemed lighthearted and one might be a good solution but we had to seek a third party for recommendations,” Walker said. “We should receive a preliminary report of the pool forensic findings this week and we will know more on a time for fixing it then. We will have to come to an agreement on how it will be fixed. We want it for our kids, at least for 10 or 15 years.”
Jacob Eddings, Tecumseh, said he did not know about the condition of the pool but that he thought something might be wrong with it because he noticed it had been drained. Eddings said he was a YMCA member as a child and, as an adult, has been a member for a couple years, but he hadn’t swam in the new pool.
“I’ve never swam in it, I just swam in the old one,” he said. “I had a buddy who got a double ear infection after he swam in it, maybe too much chlorine or something. But I have no complaints about the Y; I love it. It’s always been a good experience for me; I’ve always loved coming to the Y.”
Eddings said the lack of the pool hasn’t bothered him much but that once it is repaired and refilled, he would likely use it when he has time.
“I might give it a shot after a few others have tried it out first,” he said.
Watch for updates to this story in future editions of the News-Star.
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Johnna Ray may be reached at 214-3934.
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YMCA staff and members were excited when, after a 5-year fundraising campaign, their long-awaited new pool was constructed. Within two months though, they knew that excitement wouldn’t last.
“We saw a crack in it in September 2008 and as time went on, we were seeing the line continue to grow,” Tracy Walker, executive director and CEO, said. “Now there is a visible crack across about 98 percent of the pool.”
The YMCA pool is a six-lane competition-style with a 20-yard lazy river and a two-story slide. It was under a one-year warranty when the crack was first noticed, so Walker said she called Wynn Construction and the Association of Pool Builders to see what could be done about the damage.
“God was looking out for us,” Walker said. “The crack came through while the pool was under warranty.”
By August this year, the crack had become so bad the decision was made to close the pool until the appropriate next step could be taken, she said. Draining began Aug. 19.
“We caught the crack during the warranty time, but we didn’t want to take it down during the summer,” Walker explained. “The bottom line is, it’s our kids and our seniors who are the people who really need this year-long. So we have to decide, ‘How do we make it right for everyone.’”
To help make that decision, the YMCA is consulting three attorneys and has brought in a pool forensics expert to see what caused the damage and what the best solution is for getting it back to the shape it should be.
“We are painstakingly doing everything we can to make sure it is done correctly and that they get our pool up to the quality we paid for,” Walker said. “The most important message to our donors and the community is that we will get this fixed properly. We don’t want it repaired; we want it fixed. We want it adequately fixed, not just taped.”
With the assistance of a “good set of attorneys” and a few others, there have been a few proposals for fixing the pool brought to the table thus far, she said.
“Two proposals seemed lighthearted and one might be a good solution but we had to seek a third party for recommendations,” Walker said. “We should receive a preliminary report of the pool forensic findings this week and we will know more on a time for fixing it then. We will have to come to an agreement on how it will be fixed. We want it for our kids, at least for 10 or 15 years.”
Jacob Eddings, Tecumseh, said he did not know about the condition of the pool but that he thought something might be wrong with it because he noticed it had been drained. Eddings said he was a YMCA member as a child and, as an adult, has been a member for a couple years, but he hadn’t swam in the new pool.
“I’ve never swam in it, I just swam in the old one,” he said. “I had a buddy who got a double ear infection after he swam in it, maybe too much chlorine or something. But I have no complaints about the Y; I love it. It’s always been a good experience for me; I’ve always loved coming to the Y.”
Eddings said the lack of the pool hasn’t bothered him much but that once it is repaired and refilled, he would likely use it when he has time.
“I might give it a shot after a few others have tried it out first,” he said.
Watch for updates to this story in future editions of the News-Star.
---
Johnna Ray may be reached at 214-3934.
