Controversy Brews Over Aquatic Center Pool Depth

---
There is a controversy brewing over the increase in the required depth to 6-feet of the reconstructed Town Aquatic Center.  Residents want to know how this important requirement, a requirement that cost the town an added $1.169 million in Aquatic Center reconstruction funding, was missed.

Was it missed by the consultant, Ballard-King Associates, who did the feasibility study? Was it town staff? 

Somehow, "they" neglected to consider the Pima County Health requirement of a 5-foot depth.  Then, "they" missed the Pima County Health pool depth requirement of 6-feet for this particular pool configuration.  This mistake, this oversight in unfathomable.

It does raise a serious question: What else was missed in this study.  This study that was relied upon by council when it made its decision to approve and fund the reconstruction.

Why are Mayor Hiremath and Council Members Snider, Hornat and Waters unavailable to hold a special council session to discuss this "mistake" and other important aquatic center related matters (see our posting for a list)?   What is so important in their personal lives that they don't want to do the work for which they were elected?  The success of this project has huge repercussions on Oro Valley taxpayers. If these council members don't want to do the job why did they seek office in the first place? 

So, because not even one of them will join with Bill Garner, Mike Zinkin and Brendan Burns, the three council members who have called for a council study session to discuss this situation in public, we will discuss it.

The facts:

• In 2007, Pima County signed a delegation agreement with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality ("ADEQ") to enforce the regulations in Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.) Title 18, Chapter 5, Article 2 governing the structural requirements for pools and spas. Under the delegation agreement with ADEQ, the regulations contained within A.A.C. R18-5-219 require a five-foot depth at each end of the swimming lanes at public/semi pools. Unless, more restrictive design standards from the governing body of the swimming league apply, a five-foot depth would be required.
• "Since the Town’s existing Olympic pool contains 12” radius coves connecting the pool walls to the pool floor, the minimum code compliant pool depth for our facilities to use as a racing competition pool is 6’-0”." (Source: Oro Valley Pool Depth Requirement Document)
• These are state regulations that Pima County "signed on" to implement five years ago.  
• These regulations were in place and available when the "Municipal Pool Study" was done in 2011.

It is these regulations that the consultant should have used in preparing the aquatic center feasibility study.

Instead of using the correct depth, 5-feet based on the written regulations and 6-feet based on the Oro Valley planned configuration, the consultant used the less stringent USA Swimming 4-foot depth in estimating the cost of the reconstruction.

Item 11 on the feasibility report's "Items To Be Accomplished List" for Phase 1 specifically references this least stringent requirement: "Modify Competition pool to provide ten lanes of 25 yard starting at USA Swimming compliant depths [4-feet] and stating from both ends of the 50 meter pool." (Source: Feasibility Study Page 73). The cost of this one item is $603,750, based on adding just a few inches in depth to the existing pool. (Source: Feasibility Study Page 76).

The result: An $1.169 million understatement of the amount of funds needed to reconstruct the aquatic center; and a hodgepodge of funding for it.

A controversy brews over the aquatic center pool depth.  How did this happen?  If it was the consultant's oversight, doesn't the town have cause to seek recourse from them?  Isn't it time for town council to meet to discuss this?
---