SANTA CLARA — For months, community members pleaded with the city of Santa Clara to reopen the famed George F. Haines International Swim Center after it closed in January over safety concerns. Nearly six months later, they have their wish — but it will come at a hefty cost to the city.
On Tuesday evening, the Santa Clara City Council voted 6-1 to temporarily — and partially — reopen the nearly 60-year-old facility as they continue to search for a long-term solution for the aging swim center. Councilmember Karen Hardy cast the dissenting vote.
City officials had advised against the decision and warned the council that reopening two of the three pools at the facility will cost roughly $1.8 million — and that’s if nothing else goes wrong.
“Due to the age, there is no guarantee that the facility will remain operational and because we know we’ve had repair problems in the past, we know that those repairs will be ongoing, they’ll be expensive to repair and maintain,” Assistant City Manager Cynthia Bojorquez said.
Over the last three years, Santa Clara has spent $246,000 repairing parts of the facility, some of which had to be custom made because of the pool’s age, according to the city. Despite the investment, the swim center was closed for more than 100 days last year due to mechanical issues.
The International Swim Center shuttered suddenly earlier this year after an inspection of the facility found critical safety issues like “structurally unsound” buildings and cracking throughout the diving tower. The closure forced the pool’s three main user-groups — Santa Clara Swim Club, Santa Clara Diving and the Santa Clara Aquamaids — to scramble to find other places to practice across the Bay Area.
Consultants said the diving well — where the diving and synchronized swimming teams practice — is unusable due to structural damage, but the other two pools could be revived with some work. The $1.8 million in costs includes erecting new exterior fencing that can’t be climbed over and replastering the pools, which county officials said must be done within 6 months of reopening. Adding new showers since the locker room has been deemed unsafe could also be an additional cost of $53,000 per year.
It’s unclear when exactly the facility will open, but for the swim club, the news brings some relief.
“It’s going to help us quite a bit in our ability to find water to use and train in,” Santa Clara Swim Club head coach Kevin Zacher told The Mercury News. “It’s been really difficult since January just being all over the place and families driving a lot. Just having a central place, at least for training, is going to be really helpful for our families and swimmers.”
Zacher said that renting out other pools has been a “strain on the club as a whole” and those costs have been passed onto their members.
Several parents of swimmers at the meeting said the club has been paying between $60,000 to $80,000 a month at other pools — much more than they would be paying at …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
