Valdese Town Council postpones pool project for six months to focus on public safety facilities
The covered Valdese pool remains closed due to cold temperatures. The town council has delayed any further discussion on a permanent pool structure for six months.
The Valdese Town Council has postponed for six months discussions of the permanent pool structure, despite unanimously approving the project in December.
In a 3-2 roll-call vote on Monday night, the council delayed the pool discussion to prioritize the public safety facilities project. Council members Heather Ward, Gary Ogle, and Glenn Harvey voted to table the item. Newly appointed Melinda Zimmerman and Councilwoman Rexanna Lowman voted against putting the brakes on the project.
After the vote, a crowd of pool supporters left the town council chambers, in stark contrast to the applause that erupted last month when the elected officials unanimously approved the project.
Before the council pushed the pool structure to the back burner, Chair Scott Compton of the Parks and Recreation Commission gave a presentation about the $300,000 capital campaign. He told the council about their drafted donation letters, plans for a donation wall and banners for the Rec Center, and fundraising events such as the Polar Plunge and Swim-a-Thon.
Those plans are now on hold.
“If we table for six months, that will give us an opportunity to get responses back from our RFQ (Request for Qualifications) for the public safety facilities,” Harvey said.
The public safety facility RFQ has been issued to evaluate various options, including constructing a new combined police and fire facility at 200 Massel Ave. SW or renovating the recently acquired building at 215 Main St. E.
Interim Town Manager Bo Weichel reported that 10 general contractors were sent letters seeking Statements of Qualifications (SOQ). One has declined while three requested to tour the Valdese facilities. The SOQs are due by Jan. 31, with the review of statements taking place in February.
The pool construction contract with Houck Construction LLC ($1.79 million) outlined a timeline of 240 days (eight months) to complete the structure, cutting into the height of summer swimming.
The allocated funds and costs of the Valdese pool structure project.
“What I’m looking at right now is that fact that we could potentially say this is not a no, but we do have a public safety buildings issue that should be at the front line of everyone’s mind,” Ward said. “...I’m saying simply, step back, let us get this finished, then move on to the next project. That is why nothing is getting done because we are bouncing back and forth.”
Ogle said he was “100% for the pool cover” yet raised concern about the financial part of the “big-ticket” item.
Lowman, who wanted to move forward with the pool structure, noted that the project would likely be more expensive in six months due to rising costs of materials and labor.
ADA WORK
The permanent pool structure was originally paired with accessibility updates needed to conform to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines at the Valdese Recreation Center.
Harvey asked if delaying the pool structure would also delay the ADA work at the Rec Center.
A $500,000 grant from the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund for Accessible Parks earmarked $123,000 for installing two accessible ramps in the Valdese Community Center — one for the tennis court from the current pool deck and the other for the front of the gym – and a semi-automatic door in the lobby.
Weichel confirmed that the ADA part of the project was kept separate so the town could move forward on those renovations after they received an updated quote on this work.
LOVELADY SIDEWALK
The pool structure was not the only project to come to a halt. The council will not be moving forward on the Lovelady Sidewalk project, or the “sidewalk to nowhere.”
The two-phased Lovelady Sidewalk project would have a route from downtown Valdese to Lakeside Park as part of the River Walk Project. The town received a Surface Transportation Block Grant from the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Phase One incorporates constructing a sidewalk along a relatively vacant stretch of Lovelady Road from Laurel Street to Crescent Street. It is budgeted to cost $1.4 million with all but $300,000 reimbursed by NCDOT.
The financial impact on Valdese is two-fold. First is the outlay of $1.4 million that would be reimbursed over time by DOT. The second is the non-reimbursable cost to the town of $300,000. While DOT funding is secured, Phase Two funding is not.
When the council was asked to either approve or deny the project agreement, no one made a motion, effectively spiking the project.
After the meeting, Weichel explained that he would need to contact the Western Piedmont Council of Governments, a partner in this project. He would also reach out to NCDOT about “de-committing” to the grant. A resolution stating that position would be brought before the council at its next regular meeting on Monday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. at Town Hall.
Saydie Bean may be reached at 828-445-8595, ext. 2011, or saydie@thepaper.media.
