New Kedron Fieldhouse pool bubble to make debut soon
Monday, January 23, 2012 - 12:51am
Submitted by John Munford
Submitted by John Munford
Officials hope it will last another 20 years
The new bubble for the Kedron pools is expected to be operational by the end of the month, according to city officials.
The bubble exterior has been delivered and staff is finalizing some issues with the mechanical equipment before it can be erected, officials said.
The project has faced delays and cost overruns because of a number of problems, some of which were discovered prior to construction and others that came to light as
construction progressed after a September start. The initial bid for the project also came in at $96,000 over the initial estimate.
Problems with the existing anchoring system added an another $108,000 to the tally, which is expected to end well north of $454,000 approved by council in June. In October, the city council approved an additional repair amount up to $100,000 to cover problems with electrical issues and unplanned waterline extensions.
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.
City officials are hoping they will get 20 years or more from the new bubble enclosure.
The downtime for the bubble this year forced all five Fayette County high school swim teams to scramble to find practice time at other area facilities. The teams also traditionally hosted several meets at the Kedron pools.
Fri, 01/27/2012 - 11:36pm
#2
You're not Lisa...
...and your eyes are not blue? I haven't heard that song in FOREVER!!
Sat, 01/28/2012 - 1:09am
#3
Me, either but I like it---
do you?
Sat, 01/28/2012 - 11:04pm
#4
Love it!
I had the cassette tape....must have been around the Bicentennial. I was humming the song all day long today!
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 10:23pm
#5
Thank you Council
for keeping our amenities in good shape. I choose to live in PTC in large part for the amenities that we offer. From cart paths to pools to parks.
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 11:04pm
#6
Amenities
Yes Spyglass, the amenities, like the year round pool and the cart paths, are what sets PTC apart from any other suburb.
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:25am
#7
We the Taxpayer
have just spent $600,000.00 +/- on a bubble that 90% of the Peachtree citizens don't even use. Furthermore, half or more of the pool usage comes from other city's or county's...not our city, the ones who are paying the tax.
Furthermore we, the taxpayer(s) are spending over $700,000 a year to keep this facility in operation.
The major and council were asked to discuss a $1,000,000.00 donation that would put a permanent structure over the pool (no silly bubble), a true acquatic center. That same entity also advised coucil that they would run the facility and thus save the tax-payers of this city over $300,000.00 per year.
So we now have a bubble that cannot be used for swimming events (issues of occupancy),thus no tournaments, that could drive revenue back into the local economy.
In closing, the city decided to spend $600,000.0 +/- for a bubble that is highly inefficient. The city coould have excepted a 1,000,000.00 donation to build a permanent structure. Thus a net gain to the city of 1.6 million dollars. Then the city would save $300,000.00 a year for the next 10 years.
By not even taking the time to look at this deal, the city will have cost the taxpayers of Peachtree City close to 4 million dollars over the next 10 years. For a facility that 90 percent of it's citizens dont even use.
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 1:29pm
#8
I think the bubble replacement is a cost we should not be
taking on now. On the other hand Dar, would you please list the name of the 'entity' making this offer of $1,000,000.00 donation and what were the strings if any attached to it and any involvement you may have with this donation offer? Is this the same deal that you proffered some time ago? Let's have transparency all around.
Fri, 01/27/2012 - 3:26pm
#9
Julie, the entity is Dar himself
Duh! That's how he knows all about it. He was going to manage it for them as well. Not sure that matters. What actually matters is why did the city turn it down? I don't remember it being discussed in any public meeting and that's irresponsible right there.
Let's hear from da mayor!
Fri, 01/27/2012 - 7:25pm
#10
Julie?? Mudcat, you takiin' to me? I'm not Julie--and I'm not
Lisa but would like for Dar to answer our questions. He continues to beat that horse to death. Guess he really wants that 'entity' to have his new facility.
Fri, 01/27/2012 - 8:51pm
#11
Yea, I thought you were the head of the satan club
Julie Shugarbaker or something like that. Am I wrong?
Sat, 01/28/2012 - 11:31am
#12
Mudkitty & Fayette Freethinkers
You're talking about Julie Williams--AKA Mainstream.
Sat, 01/28/2012 - 12:39pm
#13
Whoops, sorry Mytmite
All the M's look alike to me.
Sat, 01/28/2012 - 3:53pm
#14
Mud Kitty, Mytmite & the 'Ms'
Well, if you had attended either of the last two blogger meetings, you would have met Mytmite and been able to discern who's who!
Sat, 01/28/2012 - 5:05pm
#15
Thanks, AHJ, I must admit Mucat does not remind me of anyone
I know either by picture, word or deed. Waiting for the next meeting--when, where and who???
Fri, 01/27/2012 - 10:33pm
#16
Yep-nope--did you happen to meak Julia Sugarbaker---
of Designing Women fame? Dixie Carter? Would wish it were me but she done be dead. You know I am not the head of the satan club since you are Satan's handmaiden--stop being so coy.
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 6:47pm
#17
OK, Council...
...$600K for a bubble for the use of 10% of the citizens of Peachtree City with no revenue generation, will someone claim that it is a tourist attraction? If all that Dar Thompson said is valid, our Mayor and Council have some serious explaining to do in light of borrowing $3M for 'capitol purchases.
The time for free spending is long past.
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 8:38am
#18
How About It Mayor And Council
Did you in fact turn down a 1 MILLION DOLLAR GIFT? If so, please explain WHY!
Thu, 01/26/2012 - 8:10am
#19
'splain that to me, dar
What do you mean the pool can't be used for tournaments? What possible reason is there to repair the bubble or even have the bubble in the first place if not to have swim tournaments? I agree that even with swim tournaments 90% will never see the inside of the pool, but with the visitors and ancillary dollars generated by swim tournaments, it kind of makes sense. But without swim tournaments? No way. Say it isn't so.
Fri, 01/27/2012 - 12:04am
#20
Robert...
The swim meets for our local High School(s) take place in Clayton County....how embarrassing is that? The occupancy load with the bubble is less than 80 (I think). This is simply a formula that was used to insure a certain number of people could exit the bubble if there was a malfunction and it deflated. Therefore, no tournaments, which equals no money for hotels, and restaurants, which equals no money for the city.
Sat, 01/28/2012 - 10:01pm
#21
Kedron
Yes it is true that a majority of Fayette's HS swim meets do take place in Clayton County. Kedron's bubble capacity I believe is 119. The staff at Kedron are hopeful that the new bubble will be able to hold more. Unfortunately, it will never be able to host an invitational swim meet. The "Bubble" can accommodate a dual meet between 2 Fayette County HS teams. The facility in Clayton I believe was built with a combination of funds from Clayton County schools and Splost funding. I would love to see an aquatic facility in Fayette County that could easily accommodate all the Fayette County High Schools and Middle Schools. Not too long ago the Board of Education donated land for an aquatic facility to be built near Bennett's Mill Middle school. While the funding was in place for the aquatic facility apparently it became a no deal" for the county because they could not get the funding for the "Arts" side of the facility. I believe I was told that if funding couldn't be found for all (Arts- Theater and Aquatic) of it, then none of it could be built. It still baffles me why they just didn't go ahead and build the aquatic center, and then later look for the funding for the Arts Side. The aquatic center was going to be a state of the art facility including a diving well that could host large invitational swim meets that would definitely had resulted in revenue for the county.
Fri, 01/27/2012 - 10:14am
#22
Clayton County Pool
If I remember correctly that facility was built with fund for the Olympics, not funds from the people of Clayton. Don't get me wrong its a very nice facility.
Fri, 01/27/2012 - 8:43am
#23
80 people? That's 0.222% of the population of PTC
Reading between the lines, I guess the idea is that a bubble could deflate or something whereas a permanent roof would not. So, looks like mayor and council made a short-sighted decision. Tell us more about the offer they turned down. On the surface it sounds quite irresponsible of them to waste taxpayer money on something that serves only 80 people. Got to be more to the story.
Maybe the Citizen can do a series of articles on this. Do try to spread it out over a few weeks and do try to get some actual interviews - sounds like Dar is a good place to start. Then Logsdon - I assume this decision happened on his watch. Is that why he was accused of what he was accused of? Please ,please, please, limit Ben to 1,000 words a week if he gets the assignment.
Come to think of it, why have a bubble at all if we can't have swim meets there? What do we use it for in the winter? Practice? Something doesn't add up here.
Fri, 01/27/2012 - 12:16am
#24
Bubbles & millions
Who offerd to put up a natatorium? When was put in front of the council? Come on Dar, you know to be a little more upfront.
Several posts have commented on the small percentage of people that use the pool. Well, unlike the other sport facilities, the pool is open for ALL to use and for all ages. It is not only used by the local high schools,nthe pool is used for a local competitive swim team, Masters Swim Team (for adults), exercise programs for seniors, swim lessons, birthday parties, lap swimming, physical therapy, and recreational swimming year round. The local swim team has been traveling 5 days a week to Douglas County for practices. They hold the swim meets at Georgia Tech. Swimming is just as important to many kids as soccer, basketball, football, and any other sports are to others. Many people associate swimming with only summer months, however, competitive swim season is from October through February for high school and year round for USA swimmers. Before people compare sizes in all the sports, swimming is limited to eight lanes in one location and shared by all. What is really disappointing is to see the facilities all other metro counties have and we struggle with the "one" we have.