City council chooses tropical design for aquatics center
Hillsboro City Council met Monday morning in a special session to discuss the design of the family aquatics center.
Wendy McCarty and Matt Dalke, both representing Hillsboro Recreation Commission, and Jodie Stutzman, municipal pool manager also attended
Nancy Ronto, Burbach Aquatics representative, presented design and color options. The council decided by consensus to use a tropical theme and to give Ronto leeway to make color choices.
"Everything in the aquatic center needs to be bright and loud to attract attention," said Ronto.
Decisions made by Ronto and the council included portable guard stands, chemicals to be used, paper towel dispensers and electric hand dryers in the rest rooms, telephones, clocks, pool vacuums, public address system, and other pool design items.
The plan does not include lockers and the council decided against them.
"People can be responsible for their own stuff," said Ronto. "If you don't have lockers now, my recommendation is not to get them."
The city purchased a robotic vacuum for this season and can use the same vacuum for the new aquatic center.
An item the pool does not have which the aquatic center will have is an automatic external defibrilator.
"My concern is having it on a wet pool deck," said Wendy McCarty.
"You're always going to have those concerns," said Ronto. "You just have to keep training the staff to use the AED correctly. Considering some of the items you don't need, let's exchange those things for an AED."
The council approved a catamaran slide. According to Ronto, it will be the only one in Kansas. The slide is 15-feet long and includes a 12-foot sail and 10-foot palm trees. It will be constructed of fiberglass.
Bids for the aquatic center will be awarded Sept. 6 with the pre-construction meeting on Sept. 9 or Sept. 12.
"I'm going to push for Sept. 9 because I want them to start construction on Sept. 12," said Ronto. "I've had a lot of contractors call me. They are keeping a close eye on this."
The nearly $2.5 million aquatic center is slated to open for the 2006 season.
In the city administrator's report, Mayor Delores Dalke suggested the council think about hiring an engineer to do a study of Hillsboro's alleys and drainage.
"What we have done to our alleys is practically make them nonexistence as far as helping with drainage," said Dalke. "I would most definitely think that we need to do some major thinking about the future of alleys in Hillsboro."
By consensus, the council agreed to contact Bob Previtera of Reiss and Goodness Engineers to check into the matter.
"I'm the street superintendent as of today," said Steve Garrett. "I'll get a hold of Previtera. Alleyways are for drainage and we have had that conversation."
According to Dalke, the city recognized the flooding problem on North Adams 10 years ago but nothing was done about cleaning out the culverts.
"We don't need engineer drawings," said Dalke. "We just need engineering advice."
According to Garrett the problem of paving the alleys has been corrected.
According to Dalke the problem has not been corrected and there is a lack of communication.
"How we make these decisions of paving alleys is way beyond me," said Dalke. "And it is a total lack of communication within our system. I'm sorry, but problem has not been solved."
