Borough to dive into swimming pool issues

WASILLA —Mat-Su Borough-maintained indoor facilities could use something of a tune-up in the next few years, officials say.

The Wasilla High School pool was built in 1980, and the Palmer High School pool was constructed in 1982. Both pools have outlived the building codes used to construct them and suffer from dim lighting, corroded pipes, wiring and paint exposed to too much chlorine, according to borough officials. The last major work done on the Wasilla pool was 2010, when abraded concrete replaced tile floors, pool employees said.

Three decades is too long, and the facilities are showing their age, said borough community development director Hugh Leslie.

“We need to have a discussion about the physical condition of the pool facilities,” he said.

The pools — and planning for the Brett Ice Arena located at Wasilla — are set to be the focus of a planning meeting scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Borough Assembly Chambers.

Easy fixes are scarce, Leslie said.

“These places are a cornerstone of the community, but it’s going to take more than a coat of paint to keep them going,” he said.

A fix on one part of the pool’s system could also spark repairs in others, Leslie said. For example, improving the building’s air handling unit would require more electricity, meaning bigger and better wiring. Changing the pool’s filtration system would require better plumbing and additional electrical capacity. A major renovation could require the addition of more sprinklers (the pool currently does not have the required number for its possible capacity).

The price of fixing the problem depends on what move the assembly makes.

The need isn’t dire enough to warrant emergency action, so the Assembly could conceivably tread water on the issue, Leslie said.

“There’s always the do-nothing option, which is zero dollars,” he said.

At the opposite end would be the construction of a new aquatics facility, similar to Ketchikan’s Gateway Aquatic Center, with a price tag potentially as high as $20 million. The real cost is likely to fall somewhere in between. The pools deserve the investment, Leslie said.

“These facilities are a cornerstone of the community,” he said.

The pool discussion is part of the borough’s ongoing planning process. On Dec. 1, assembly members approved a list of seven capital improvement priorities as part of the planning process. The list, which was narrowed from 76 potential items, contains seven capital priorities grouped into “A” (more significant) and “B” (less significant) priorities. Rail spur construction to Port MacKenzie, school system financial long-range planning and a borough septage and leachate facility are on the A-list. Seward Meridian Parkway improvement, emergency radio and alert systems, the pools, and smart communities are on the B-list.

Tuesday’s regular Assembly meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. following the planning discussion, will also see the return of construction at the current site of the Veterans’ Memorial Wall of Honor to public discussion: assembly members passed a resolution banning the relocation of the Wall from the current property at a Nov. 3 meeting.

Borough officials sold the property to investment firm Spring Creek Capital LLC, which plans to build a transitional care and hospice facility at the site.

The issue has drawn heated criticism from some veterans, because the ashes of some veterans have been scattered at the present site.

Assembly member Dan Mayfield brought the issue back to the assembly following a discussion with the Schwulst family, who maintain the monument. They had plans to expand the wall to honor additional veterans, which may prove difficult or even impossible at the current location. The Scwhulst family has also signed a low-cost lease with the city of Wasilla to potentially move the monument there.

Relocation isn’t the best option, but it may prove unavoidable if the veterans and Spring Creek can’t agree, Mayfield said.

“Frankly, I don’t want to move it either, just because I’ve spoken with several veterans who are really concerned about the sacredness of the wall itself,” he said.

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.