Response by Tango Management to “Pool delayed again, users planned for June 26 opening ” The town's announcement that the Jayman Built Aquatic Centre would be delayed at least three weeks was not well-received by council on Monday night.
Response by Tango Management to “Pool delayed again, users planned for June 26 opening ”
The town's announcement that the Jayman Built Aquatic Centre would be delayed at least three weeks was not well-received by council on Monday night.
The final phase of the town's $48-million capital project to expand the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre (SLSFSC) was originally anticipated to open following a now-postponed ribbon cutting ceremony at the pool June 25.
The new anticipated opening date is July 17 - the day the nearly-full swimming lessons kick off at the new facility - but administration cannot commit to that date as of yet.
A cumulative snowball of construction delays has been topped off with a fabrication delay of the hand railings for the leisure and therapy pools.
“I'm beyond furious, ” said Coun. Jeff Toews upon learning of the delay.
“This falls 100 per cent on (project manager) Tango - they knew we needed railings and have had the blueprints since 2015 … I'm so disgusted with the level of mistakes with Tango. ”
Toews added he wouldn't let Calgary-based Tango fill a kiddie pool, let alone take the reins on any future town project if the choice was left to him.
Tango did not respond for comment.
Suzanne Gaida, senior manager of community services, explained that Alberta Health Services cannot give the green light until all mechanical and water testings are in place - which can't happen until the railings are installed, complete with tile and grout.
Once this is complete, the provincial health authority will only open the pool early for training purposes - the small army of lifeguards require 40 hours (one full week) of on-site facility training.
Gaida said while the town is hopeful for a July 17 public opening date, staff is taking things “day-by-day ” and will look to provide an update at the June 26 council meeting. She added the Big Hill Leisure Pool will remain open as long as needed.
“It's not the best news and I'm not happy to be in front of you to deliver it, but that's where we're at, ” said Gaida.
After much discussion, council agreed it would not be appropriate to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony before the facility doors could be opened to the public.
“I think we should delay the celebration … until the first kid can jump in the pool, ” said Coun. Tara McFadden.
Coun. Mary Lou Eckmeier emphasized that the first kid should perhaps be a local champion.
Coun. Morgan Nagel questioned the $5,000 budget for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the further $15,000 pegged for the big community celebration in September - as well as the timing of an extravagant pool party just weeks ahead of the municipal election.
Councillors said that they are looking forward to the finality of the project and the state-of-the-art facility.
It is too preliminary to determine if there will be additional cost overruns. The aquatic/multisport project is currently $3 million over budget.
