By ERWIN CHLANDA
The indoor 25 metre pool reopened for public use on Monday but the council doesn’t know yet how much it cost to fix it.
A spokesman says it will supply “the final cost of the remediation works when it is available. Due to outstanding invoices, we cannot currently provide an accurate or estimated cost”.
But there is good news: Entry will be free on Saturday. The waterslides will be in use, and there will be a free sausage sizzle between 12:30pm and 2pm.
According to a media release, manager Simon Duke says while the indoor pool’s unavailability “has certainly been disappointing, we’ve had great positive feedback from users enjoying the heated outdoor lap pool.
“In usual circumstances the outdoor 50 metre lap pool is closed during winter months, but it was kept open.
“As weather began to cool in April, council installed thermal blankets and recommissioned the outdoor lap pool boiler.
“Given that many of our customers have been enjoying the outdoor pool, we’ll be keeping it open for the remainder of winter.”
The council media release says the indoor pool was closed in December when it became apparent that tiles on the floor of the pool were lifting, making the pool unsafe for public use.
A specialist construction engineer was engaged, who advised that a low strength adhesive appeared to have been used in the pool’s construction, and the tiles appeared to have not been back buttered.
Retiling the indoor pool would have necessitated engaging specialists from interstate, requiring considerable time.
The council decided to replace the failing floor tiles with a coating of paint. Council’s own crew prepared the surface, and a local business was contracted to paint the pool shell.
Council can now choose to retile or repaint the floor when it will have a lesser impact, likely during summer when outdoor swimming is most popular, says Mr Duke.
“The new paint coating has a lifespan of five years, but council may choose to tile the pool sooner than that,” says Scott Allen, Director Technical Services.
“In usual circumstances the outdoor 50 metre lap pool is closed during winter months, but it was kept open.
“As weather began to cool in April, council installed thermal blankets and recommissioned the outdoor lap pool boiler.
“Given that many of our customers have been enjoying the outdoor pool, we’ll be keeping it open for the remainder of winter.”
The council media release says the indoor pool was closed in December when it became apparent that tiles on the floor of the pool were lifting, making the pool unsafe for public use.
A specialist construction engineer was engaged, who advised that a low strength adhesive appeared to have been used in the pool’s construction, and the tiles appeared to have not been back buttered.
Retiling the indoor pool would have necessitated engaging specialists from interstate, requiring considerable time.
The council decided to replace the failing floor tiles with a coating of paint. Council’s own crew prepared the surface, and a local business was contracted to paint the pool shell.
Council can now choose to retile or repaint the floor when it will have a lesser impact, likely during summer when outdoor swimming is most popular, says Mr Duke.
“The new paint coating has a lifespan of five years, but council may choose to tile the pool sooner than that,” says Scott Allen, Director Technical Services.
PHOTO supplied by the Town Council.
The council bought cheap (as per usual) and now WE have to foot the bill again.
How the hell can they not know the cost of repair? It’s pretty simple, the invoices get entered into a thing called a computer then there this function that enables you to press a key and the computer spits out the answer. All you have to be is able to READ. I’m assuming most people in the council can read though a lot seem to lack numeracy skills – or it it by design?
Come clean with numbers and let us see where OUR money is going.