The Peachtree City Council has authorized spending up to $100,000 in additional repairs and equipment replacement connected to the replacement of the all-weather bubble enclosure for the Kedron pools.
Construction crews are in the process of building a new underground anchoring system for the bubble, but the excavation of the concrete pool deck has revealed several problems with electrical issues and unplanned waterline extensions, City Engineer David Borkowski told the city council Thursday night.
The existing waterlines were not where they were supposed to be according to the original engineering drawings for the project, Borkowski said.
The electrical issues require improvements to the emergency lighting system, as the current system has a delay between the time power is lost and the emergency power comes online, Borkowski said.
Also discovered in the construction process is a need to improve the electrical grounding and bonding for the pools, he added.
Because the cost of the improvements is still unknown, and the city is working against the clock to have the bubble ready for use over the winter months, council authorized spending up to $100,000 in necessary change orders for the project, giving the approval power to the city manager instead of requiring a council vote.
At this point it is looking like the bubble will be ready in December or the first of January, Borkowski said. That puts the facility significantly behind the curve in terms of a startup in time for the high school swimming season, as the first home McIntosh meet is slated for Nov. 18.
The costs have already gone up significantly on the bubble, as the city hadn’t planned on replacing the anchoring system, which on top of the winning bid being $96,000 more than expected brought the total cost to $454,000.
The latest issues could bring the bubble project sailing upwards of $550,000, and there still remains a possibility other problems could be discovered, officials have said. Council has agreed to fund the bubble replacement over a 10-year period with funds from a $3 million bond aimed at repairing and upgrading city facilities.
The bubble replacement includes not just a new bubble exterior but also a new air exchange system for the facility.
Councilman Eric Imker was initially reticent to approve the latest expenditures, but he said the bubble brought in $60,000 in revenue last year alone, and over the life of the bubble he expects that figure to increase. So even counting for the annual operating costs, the bubble should just about break even, Imker said.
“It’s a bitter pill, and no one wants to be in this position,” said Councilwoman Kim Learnard. “You have to make the best set of decisions based on what you know at the time.”
Learnard said she felt badly for the swim teams from the county high schools who were hoping the bubble would be ready in time for their season meets.
City officials are hoping they will get 20 years or more from the new bubble enclosure.
City Manager Jim Pennington said he would keep council informed of the bubble expenditures on a weekly basis.
