GRAND BANK, NL – It’s taking longer than expected to complete renovations at the Grand Bank swimming pool.
Recreation director Tom Burton filled council in on the progress of the work during this week’s meeting on Monday, March 12.
According to Burton, it looks like the facility won’t be ready for its usual opening date for the season in early May.
Burton said the new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is installed and balanced, and plumbing is complete with the exception of a new eyewash station, which will be installed by town workers.
There is between three to five days of electrical work left to do, Burton said, as lights for the lobby and washroom and some exit signs were wrong and had to be reordered.
The main issue that will delay the opening is with iron support bars in the building’s peak that must be covered to stop bits of rust from falling below, said Burton.
Covering materials were ordered from the United States on March 9, he said, and will take two to three weeks to deliver. Installation will take another week. Then the town has its own work to do at the pool, including painting.
“We’re talking a month probably before all contractors are out of that building and then we, of course, need to get in there to do any prep work before we start to paint,” Burton said.
“Now, we’ve started that. We had hoped to (wait) until they get out and then go in, but because of this delay, we got no other choice. We’re inside now doing some prep work in anticipation that when they leave we can start painting right away.”
Some of the painting can be done now, he noted, but the pool and the deck must wait until work on the crossbeams is completed.
Though he acknowledged it is hard to say for sure, Burton said his “best instinct” was the pool won’t be ready to open until early June.
Mayor Rex Matthews suggested putting as many town employees as possible to work at the facility to ensure the pool gets up and running quickly.
Issues at the pool delayed the opening at the facility, which was built in the 1970s, last year as well. The completed renovations, however, should keep the pool in good shape for some time.
