Unplanned repair costs at the Centennial Aquatic Centre have cost the town more than $360,000 since 2016.
A staff report being delivered to Collingwood council on Monday, Sept. 16, lists six “unplanned expenditures” incurred by the town since 2016 for the pool facility, which opened August 2013.
Dean Collver, director of parks, recreation, and culture for the town, delivered a verbal update to the Corporate and Community Services Committee on Monday (Sept. 9) announcing the pool would have to remain closed longer than the scheduled three-week downtime for maintenance due to further issues with the changeroom floors.
This year, the work included routine maintenance, cleaning and repairs, as well as the additional task of replacing the floors in the changerooms and shower areas.
“This project was originally implemented to deal with floor conditions that do not allow for water to run to the drains, therefore allowing water to pool in low areas,” states Collver’s report for council to be delivered this Monday.
When crews began tearing up the floors, they discovered the tiles “had not been laid properly” and there was space between the tiles and the concrete floor where water was pooling.
“The slope of the grade of the floor to the drain was inconsistent and inadequate to properly drain the floor,” states the report. “Also, improper wall board was used in the shower areas.”
Collver states the correction work for many of the issues is already included in the original project, but additional drain work required was not.
Council previously approved $144,970 for the project, and Collver is asking for an additional $32,500 to cover the cost of the new drains.
Collver estimates the pool will be shut down up to three more weeks on top of the original three-week shut down planned.
The other projects listed in Collver’s report as “unplanned expenditures” include tiling the warm water pool after mould was found behind the liner ($82,986), epoxy finish for peeling rubber tiles in the lobby ($9,328), deck tiles for the main pool perimeter to meet building code ($62,115), deck tile for the warm water pool to meet building code ($50,771), change room partitions ($10,348) and this year’s tile replacement ($144,970 plus the $32,500).
Council is being asked to approve the $32,500 overage for the drain work at its Monday night meeting.
The Centennial Aquatic Centre was built in 2013 and was paid for - in part - by proceeds from a 2012 Collus share sale. The decision leading up to its construction is part of the current judicial inquiry.
