8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2015
Local
Sam-O Swim
committee tours pool
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
In June the City Council
chose members to serve
on a committee to oversee
and prioritize the need of
certain repairs at Sam-O-
Swim Center.
The pool is City owned
but managed by the
YMCA.
Citizens Rustin Smith,
Jason Bybee, Andrew
Bryan, Jerri Wickert and
Noel Scott were appointed
to the Committee with
Ben Merrill serving as the
City Council representa-
tive while Keith Magnuson
and Michelle Owen at-
tended the meeting as city
employee representatives.
Paula Moe, aquatics direc-
tor for Sam-O-Swim was
also in attendance, as was
Rob Heeb, President of the
Baker City YMCA.
In a previous meeting
Andrew Bryan was elected
chair while Jerri Wickert
was elected vice-chair.
Monday evening the
committee met to tour the
facility and observe the
proposed improvements.
Those improvements
include replacing the sand
filters currently in use,
replacing the boiler system
in the facility, resurfac-
ing both the full-size pool
and the baby pool and the
replacement of show-
ers in both the men’s and
women’s locker rooms.
The Committee first met
in the maintenance room
at the pool to observe the
sand filters and the boiler.
Although it was very
loud in the room, Michelle
Owen and Keith Magnuson
and Paula Moe all ex-
plained about the systems.
Michelle Owen pointed
out a patch on the side of
the sand filter as she told
the committee that the
filter systems ran around
$20,000 - $21,000 to
replace with the usual life
expectancy of about 20
years.
Budgeted money for this
task is $20,000.
“We are surprised it has
made it this long,” Owen
said.
The filter, like all the
items on the list, is about
35 years-old.
She then moved on to
address the boiler project.
“The boiler, also original,
heats the building and can
heat the water if necessary
but that is not what it is
used for.”
Councilor Merrill asked
“What condition is this
in?”
Magnuson replied, “Ter-
rible.”
Owen briefed the
committee on a proposal
to replace and automate
the system at a cost of
$190,000, the budgeted
amount was $75,000.
The committee asked
questions about refurbish-
ing rather than replacing.
Owen mentioned that by
replacing this system, sav-
ings could potentially be
between $16,000-$18,000
in utility costs and the
facility would be eligible
for an Energy Trust credit
of $23,000.
Bryan said, “So we are
basically $89,000 short
of doing that. What if
we were to borrow that
$89,000 from the League
of Oregon Cities? At like
¾ of 1%, you’re basically
borrowing for nothing.
Mike Kee (Baker City
Manager) suggested,
we just borrow from an
internal fund, like the golf
course has done. I think it’s
fair to make comparable
asset judgements there.
Mike then got back to
me and said that since it
wasn’t budgeted it might
not be possible to go down
that route. I don’t know if
he is thinking because the
budget season has finished
but City Councils can actu-
ally go back and of course
override budget board
decisions when they feel
it’s important.”
Owen replied, “They
can do that by 10% in
a fund and that is what
tweaks us in this fund. It’s
not very big. 10% does
not quite get us there. But
you could potentially do
a supplemental budget.
It would just require new
hearings etc. and is kind
of a pain. Even borrowing
from the equipment fund
or the Silvers Tree fund
where its money the city
holds in trust and it pays
it back with the interest it
would be earning if it was
just sitting in the bank. Is
an alternative.”
The committee moved
to the pool deck and turned
their attention to the resur-
facing project.
Moe explained that she
would really like to see
tile placed on the strips at
the bottom of the pool as
it would be much easier to
maintain and keep looking
nice.
She stated, “We re-
painted in 2012, brand new
sparkly, wonderful blue.”
Currently the bottom of
the pool surface cracks and
paint on the bottom surface
peels off.
“As you can see it comes
loose. It comes off in big
chunks. You see them all
day every day in the pool,”
Moe said—thus creating a
safety risk for swimmers
by having extremely rough
surfaces that can cause
injury and pose a liability
for the City.
She pointed out large
unattractive black areas
that paint simply would
no longer stick to as paint
quality and requirements
have changed over the
years.
Owen agreed, stating
that paint she was required
to use in the public works
department to repaint curbs
and sidewalks for example
just simply didn’t stick like
the older paint they were
able to use causing them
to be constantly repainted,
which is also expensive.
Owen explained the
plan to resurface the pool
and that there had been an
early approximate estimate
of $60,000 to complete the
project “the quote actually
came back at 69,000 but of
course we would go out to
bid for something like that
but we will be somewhere
in that range.”
The idea is to sandblast
all of the pool, which is not
included in the $69,000
quote, however as Moe
and Owen both mentioned
could be done by staff to
save costs.
“Only $60,000 was
placed in the budget for
this project. Also in the
plan is to add tile to the
strips so they no longer
need to be painted,” she
said.
Bryan commented that
“part of what happened in
the beginning was budget
related. Originally this
was a seven-lane pool, but
when you run into budget
problems you start cut-
ting corners, like painting
instead of tiling. That’s
part of what we’re making
up for.”
The committee also
toured the locker room
showers that as Moe said,
“have been repaired and
repaired” and simply no
longer are functioning as
needed.
”We took out the mecha-
nism that turns them off.
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
Paula Moe discusses the state of the pool in the Sam-O Swim Center.
We had to do that because
they no longer make the
mechanism that turns them
off. They no longer turn
off automatically,” Moe
said she often enters the
locker rooms to find the
showers empty yet running
because swimmers assume
they turn off automatically.
New units would offer that
option again.
According to Owen,
her staff from the public
works department work on
them often and explained,
“They’ve certainly been
maintained over the years
but again, you’re talking
about something that is 35
years-old. It doesn’t fix the
same way that it used to,
it’s not just a matter of a
washer here or there any-
more it’s beyond that.”
Moe agreed. “They are
old, it just happens that
things wear out,” she said.
Quotes for replacing
the showers in both locker
rooms is in the $10,000
range which is what was
placed in the budget.
After the tour the com-
mittee met outside the
facility to discuss plans
and options.
The Committee chose the
resurfacing of the pool and
the replacement of the sand
filters as their top priori-
ties.
The pool resurfacing is
going to be more expen-
sive than originally thought
and the committee talked
about taking money from
the replacement of the
showers leaving that task
to go undone for now.
Andrew Bryan said, “I
pitched a public relations
idea to Mike Kee about the
showers that maybe the
swimming world locally
could do a crowd funding
campaign and maybe come
up with the shower money.
Shift the budget on the
showers and see if the
200 or 300 of us that are
involved, there are plenty
of people and there are
those that are not as active
as they were 30 years ago
but still feel that there is
a legacy here to support.
What if we just did it all?
What if we got it all done
and we secured the pool
for 10, 12, 15 years?”
Bryan pointed out that
the incentives for replacing
the boiler and the savings
in energy cots made that
project very appealing to
him but the Committee
also felt that the replace-
ment of the boiler could
wait until the next fiscal
year if necessary.
Owen did advise she
is working on additional
grants, she has already se-
cured three, that could help
with that and can foresee
the possibility of accom-
plishing that task sooner
should more grant money
be obtained.
Owen advised that
a supplemental budget
request must be approved
by council and there are
certain requirements that
must be met when asking
for a supplemental budget.
Notifications must be made
twice within 14 days so
that will affect timeframe
for the committee as well.
“We could go to council
and get a consensus that
they want us to move for-
ward with this at the next
meeting so we can start ad-
vertising and such,” Owen
explained. “I will know
tomorrow when I speak to
Jeanie Dexter (The City
Finance Manager) what
budget law says, if it’s
New Eastern Oregon University scholarship offered
Eastern Oregon Uni-
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even possible.”
Bryan also said “I think
it is important for Council
to be made aware that the
Y has had representation at
each meeting.”
Owen agreed.
Noel Scott said, “So we
propose to do it all but if
we can’t get the money in
a supplemental budget then
we look at doing the sand
filters and the resurfacing,
that would fit within the
money that is currently
budgeted. Postpone the
boiler until next year and
crowdfund the roughly
$10,000 to do the showers.
I think the swimming com-
munity could come up with
that ten grand.”
There was some concern
as to whether or not the
community would do-
nate to a project in a City
owned building but Bryan
spoke up quickly and said,
“I’ll donate $250.”
Owen commented,
“Again this is where the
partnership with the Y,
(comes into play) people
like to give to the Y and so
you leverage the relation-
ship there.”
That was the motion that
was voted on and unani-
mously passed by all.
Bids for resurfacing of
the pool and replacing the
sand filters will be opening
soon so Owen can try to
coordinate those two proj-
ects. “I do feel that since
were using the money dif-
ferently than what we said
we were going to, we need
to tell the council ‘here’s
what we plan to do’ and
that can be done at the next
City Council meeting.”
All agreed. The next
meeting of the Sam-O
Committee was set for
August 24 at 5:30 p.m.
State says
be prepared,
not scared
A recent article in the
"New Yorker" called "The
Really Big One" has drawn
attention to the damage
a Cascadia earthquake
and tsunami will cause,
and emergency planners
are raising awareness
about how individuals
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region and Oregon is also
continuing to prepare and
mitigate for the looming
threat.
"We want Oregonians to
be prepared not scared,"
said Oregon Office of
Emergency Management
(OEM) Director Andrew
Phelps. "What we do now
to prepare will save lives
and property during any
disaster."
Families are encouraged
to put together emergency
plans and kits.