NDCC pool renovations continue to progress, RDCK targets mid-summer re-opening
By Nelson Daily Staff
It’s getting so close the swimmer can almost taste the smell of chlorine in the air.
Regional District of Central Kootenay General Manager of Community Services Joe Chirico, announced Thursday workers are now on site to complete the ceiling repair project at the Nelson and District Community Complex.
“Believe it or not, the new paint is crucial to prolonging the life of the building by preventing moisture moving from the inside of the pool to the outside of the pool,” said Chirico.
“By using the latest and most efficient building technology available to us we can modernize while we prolong the life of our existing aquatic centre.”
Renovations were necessary after ceiling tile fell into the pool at the Nelson and District Community Complex during the winter during an aqua fit class.
No one was hurt but the near-disaster forced the RDCK to close the pool, sauna, steam room and hot tub at the NDCC while renovations proceeded.
Dan Maglio Contracting Ltd. was hired on May 16 to complete ceiling repairs.
Workers will apply an acoustical treatment to the pool ceiling to dampen noise, install energy efficient LED lights, and paint the ceiling with a special paint that acts as an air-vapour barrier to reduce effervescence through the building’s porous concrete blocks.
The construction phase of the project will cost $288,700, just fewer than half the total $600,000 budgeted to complete the repair and renovation project.
The Nelson and District Aquatic Centre was built in 1975, mainly through fundraising and walk-a-thons from Balfour to Nelson by the community and for many years was the only indoor pool in the West Kootenay.
The facility was renovated in 1985 and expanded 1994 when the kids pool was built.
Chirico said construction should be completed by mid-summer when pool systems will be cleaned and tested.
The pool will then be filled, heated and reopened to the public.
However, the mid-summer opening is too late for Nelson Neptunes and Nelson Reflections clubs.
Both swim clubs were forced to cancel the 2013 seasons when it became apparent finding an alternative facility due to the closure would inflate costs too much for participants to handle.
The RDCK will begin planning for the final phase of the repair and renovation project in fall 2013 when the community will be invited to provide input into further design options for the aquatic centre with the goal of extending the life of the facility into the coming decades.
