The City of Redmond faces an overflow of ill-timed problems at the Redmond Pool.

The 40-year-old pool at Hartman Park will be closed indefinitely as city employees work to fix several internal equipment problems, including replacing a failed filtration system and two sub-pumps. Once the repairs are done and the pool is re-opened, then the city will send out bids to find a new pool operator, according to city parks and recreation director Craig Larsen. Northwest Center had operated the pool since 2003 in a lease agreement with King County, which owned the pool until the city took over ownership late last month.

“It’s difficult, but when it all comes down to it, we have to make sure the place is safe,” Larsen said.

All 70 pool filters require replacing, according to a June 17 city press release. The filters are ordered, but the city has been informed they are on back-order and will be available for installation in about three weeks. In addition, the city hired a plumbing contractor to work on the deck drains, gutters and other pool equipment.

The pool ventilation system was evaluated and is in need of major service including parts replacement. City facilities staff is power washing the concrete deck and restrooms and will also be performing repairs to the pool deck.

The city set up a Redmond Pool Hotline at (425) 556-2375 for residents to learn the latest developments in the repairs.

“We certainly understand how anxious people are to have the pool reopen,” stated Sandra Bettencourt, Recreation Division Manager for the city. “To do so, we are working on several fronts at once. The repairs are continuing, we are responding to calls from people needing information and we will soon tender a bid to hire a new pool operator. Our goal is to open as soon as it is safe to do so.”

To keep informed on pool developments, call the pool hotline (425) 556-2375.

According to an automated phone response, Northwest Center will refund any swim class registration fees for pre-paid summer programs scheduled at Redmond Pool. All questions regarding swim lesson refunds should be directed to Mercer Island Mary Wayte Pool at (206) 296-4370.

LEASE NOT RENEWED

All of the 15-20 Redmond Pool workers, employed by Northwest Center, were immediately terminated when the city closed the morning of June 11, according to Mike Quinn, Northwest Center vice president.

The city took over ownership of the building on May 28, when the lease with the county and Northwest Center ended. Northwest Center agreed to continue to operate the pool without a contract until the city came up with a lease agreement, Quinn said. But when the city went to the the pool to do some maintinance checks early last week, it found several problems, including a torn filtration system.

When the city shut down the pool to work on internal upgrades, the city and Northwest Center ended their lease talks.

“It was in the interest of both parties,” Larsen said. Quinn agreed, saying it didn’t make sense to continue to pay employees at a closed pool.

The city’s intention was to create a lease agreement through the end of the year Northwest Center, before the city made the sudden, difficult decision of closing the pool, Larsen said. The city informed Northwest Pool last Thursday evening, that they had to be out of the pool by the next morning, Quinn said.

“The short notice is very unfortunate,” Larsen said. “Our overriding issue is we want a safe and functional facility for the community to use. We thought we could fix this piece by piece, but we found several other problems, so we closed the pool down to fix everything. We can’t say how long the pool will be closed.”

After the improvements are done, the city will seek a new operating partner, Larsen said, adding that the city subsidized $100,000 each year to Northwest Center since 2003 to help with maintenance costs.

Since the pool closed June 10, city workers have found several other problems, adding to the list of repairs needed at the deteriorating pool.

“We run our facilities at a very high standard,” said Mark Hickok, Redmond’s recreation assistant manager, who is supervising the pool repairs. “When we looked around, the way this was pieced together, we knew we couldn’t run this at that standard.”

As Hickok pointed out, “the bones are good, it’s the guts that need some work.”

BAD TIMING

Hickok admitted the timing of the pool closure is bad with arrival of summer, but the repairs are desperately needed. Once the repairs are done, the community will enjoy a clean, safe, functional facility, Hickok said.

The broken filtration system is just one problem at the aging, deteriorating pool. The city just recently fixed a problem with the chlorine system and cleaned up a pipe leak in the boiler room. In addition, the heavy, humid air quality inside the pool has been an ongoing issue. A crew of six city employees is currently at the pool working on the repairs, which has a budget of $75,000, Larsen said. He said the money for repairs will come out of the parks and recreation maintenance budget and the city may be forced to “defer other work” to finish the repairs at the pool in a timely fashion.

Larsen said a community pool is a high-demand facility for the city, which is currently seeking long-term solutions. The Redmond City Council has recently met with the Kirkland and Sammamish City Councils, exploring the idea of jointly using a Metropolitan Park Department (MPD) to create a community pool/recreation facility together. A MPD would be governed by a board with equal members from each city represented.

“We are actively talking with Kirkland and Sammamish on how do we handle this for the long haul,” Larsen said. “This pool is not going to last for the long haul, no matter what we do.”

The closest pool to Redmond is the Cottage Lake Pool in Woodinville at 18831 NE Woodinville-Duvall Rd., but it will not be open for the summer until July 5.

OTHER POOL OPTIONS

The following is a list of other pools in the area. In addition to these pools, Idylwood Beach Park has a swimming beach with lifeguards on duty, now through Sept. 6, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

• • Juanita Aquatic Center, 10601 NE 132nd St., Kirkland; (425) 936-1627

• Peter Kirk Pool, 340 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland. Swim lessons, (425) 587-3330; pool hotline (425) 587-3335.

• Bellevue Aquatic Center, 601 143 Ave. NE, Bellevue; (425) 452-4444.

• Mary Wayte Pool, 8815 SE 40th St., Mercer Island; (206) 296-4370.

• City of Issaquah, 50 SE Clark St., Issaquah; (425) 837-3350.

• King County Aquatic Center (Weyerhauser), 650 SW Campus Drive, Federal Way; (253) 927-5173.

• Cottage Lake Pool, 18831 NE Woodinville-Duvall Rd., Woodinville; (425) 485-9797 (managed by the Northshore YMCA and not open until July 5).