SARGENT – The City of Sargent revealed the results of their Pool Study at the Public Forum meeting in the Sargent Community Center.
The survey responses revealed 153 responses with a 30.6% response rate.
When asked “How often do you use the following recreational amenities, 33% weekly, followed by 24% saying monthly, 22% saying daily, and 22% saying they never use the pool.
When asked “How do you rate the condition of the following recreation amenities?” 51% of the pool was in poor condition, 36% in good condition, 7% said no opinion, and 6% said excellent condition.
Another survey question asked “Would your household benefit from a splash pad?”, 38% said no, 35% said yes and 27% were neutral.
A slightly higher number of respondents believe that the City should build a new swimming pool versus renovating the current pool. 56% of respondents indicated the new pool should be built brand new and 42% of respondents claiming the current pool needs renovations.
With the temporary piping installed in 2022, NDEE (Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy) approved the 2023-2024 swim season, but if proper improvements are not made, the pool will not receive its operating permit for the 2025 swim season.
According to Miller and Associates, the Consulting Engineers, there are many deficiencies such that the bathhouse requires modifications to be ADA compliant, the Wading Pool requires a separate recirculation system, the wading pool recirculation pipes are leaking, and do not meet ADA Access standards, there are water loss issues, the recirculation system only provides about 70% of the required turnover rate, the temporary piping needs to be replaced before the 2025 swim season, and the pool exceeds a maximum 30 ft. length for skimmers.
Provided were five different proposed improvement options:
- Do nothing
- Rehab the bathhouse, new wading pool and pool improvements
- Rehab the bathhouse, new wading pool, and pool improvements including a stainless steel gutter system.
- Rehab the bathhouse and install a new swimming pool.
- New bathhouse and a new swimming pool.
Option one of doing nothing will not allow the pool to operate after the 2025 swim season.
Option two would not address the maximum width of the 30ft width for skimmers but will replace the deck and fence around the swimming pool, replace circulation piping, install a new wading pool, and modify the bathhouse to be compliant with ADA. The approximate cost for option two is $1.3M.
Option three would not address the maximum width of the 30f.t width for skimmers but will make the bathhouse ADA compliant, fix the wading pool re-circulation system, fix the water loss issue, the wading pool ADA compliant, and fix the temporary piping. The approximate cost for option three is $1.46M
Option four would modify the bathhouse to make it ADA-compliant, and remove the replace the swimming pool. The new pool would have four lanes, be 25 yards long, provide a zero-entry with splash/play features, a climbing wall, and 1-meter diving. The approximate cost for option four is $3.16M.
Option five would build a completely new bathhouse, and pool. The approximate cost would be $3.89M.
Further discussions will be had to figure out the best option for Sargent and its citizens.
