Abby schools talk dome, pool

Donations sought for pair of major facilities projects

The Abbotsford School District continues to move full steam ahead on a pair of major projects, with hopes of having a working pool and a storm shelter/multipurpose dome in the near future.

However, the cost of these two projects is in the millions of dollars. And, as superintendent Sherry Baker said during a March 17 meeting with VIP donors, the projects are likely to see unexpected costs and snags along the way.

“Every time the architect starts looking around, they find one more thing, and then one more thing,” Baker said. “If something else goes bump in the night, we could be in trouble. That’s why the VIP event is being held.”

Baker proceeded to outline the two projects, their costs and benefits, and what they could do for the district and the greater Abbotsford community.

“What you see here are two unique projects,” she said. “The FEMA dome project wasn’t something we were looking for . . . it was one that just fell into our lap.”

Last year, Abbotsford was named a finalist for a grant, with FEMA offering 75 cents on the dollar for the construction of a storm shelter/multi-purpose dome. Baker said it “was practically impossible to say no to that.”

“We’re in the process of raising the money, and for the last year and half, that’s exactly what we have been doing internally,” she said. “We’ve been storing away every dime we have for the FEMA project.”

The building will not only be a safe place in the event of a disaster, but can also be used to provide extra classroom space in a district that has been growing exponentially over the past five years. Space inside the dome could also be used for a theater stage for performances, as well as extra space for athletic events.

“One of the biggest things we are lacking right now is classrooms,” Baker said. “It’s very hard to predict if the student population will go up or down. In our case, on any given year we could add 3035 students, or lose 10.”

The district has raised roughly $1 million for that project, but administrators were caught off guard when the district’s pool sprung a leak late last year. The pool was constructed nearly 50 years ago, and after bringing in experts to look at it, the cost to repair was estimated at $700,000.

“This is something that means a lot to our community . . . it’s important,” Baker said about the pool.

Mary Nikolay could not attend the VIP meeting, but in a hand-written note, she pledged $100,000 to the pool repair project. In the coming weeks, the district is hoping to receive more donations to offset costs for the two projects.

Baker said she had received a letter from Nikolay, which she read aloud at last week’s event: “I am hopeful that our community can raise the funds to repair and improve our school’s swimming pool. I remember around 50 years ago when the funds for the original pool fell in our laps. . .since then, generations of our children have learned to swim and spent many happy hours in play. Surely, we as a community can come together to provide this to our children and many adult swimmers.”

Moving forward

The board of education convened for a special meeting on Tuesday morning, in which they reaffirmed their goal to move forward with the pool project.

Mason Rachu, the district’s maintenance supervisor, said they found additional asbestos in the facility, which will also need to be removed, and the cost of this removal will be $50,000 since it will mean that much more work during demolition.

Rachu said the bigger issue is the pool deck.

“Our pool deck, as far as pitch (slope) for the drains does not meet ADA compliance. . which means we have to rip up all the tile and redo the pool deck,” he said.

The cost to replace the tile would be an additional $130,000, but Rachu said they could go with a brushed concrete pool deck, and can even stain the concrete during the mixing process to color the brushed concrete.

Other changes to the pool will be the removal of the diving board, which does not meet current codes because the pool wall is too shallow on that end.

Rachu displayed a model of the finished pool, and he pointed out a rectangle that runs around the pool. That rectangle, he said, would be a new trench gutter, which is more efficient than having a bunch of little drains, which is what the pool previously had.

After listening to Rachu’s report, the board approved a plan to go with the stainless steel gutter and brushed concrete.

BIG CONSTRUCTION - Potential plans and models for the finished pool, right, and storm shelter/multipurpose dome, above, were displayed to members of the board of education last week. The bulk of the dome’s expenses will come from a FEMA grant, while the pool will be paid for through a 10-year, $700,000 loan. STAFF PHOTOS/ROSS PATTERMANN