Library // Spare That Pool?
By: Terry Brannon, PE, PresidentThe Brannon Corporation, Tyler
Consulting Engineers
I don't throw anything away. I've still got my class notes from engineering school back in 1968! I might have a problem one of these days just like one of those old study problems. I may need those notes. I've still got a slide rule because one of these days the power is going to fail when the earth's magnetic poles reverse. (I thought Y2K was my chance!)
And I'm not the only one. My wife recycles plastic forks and mayonnaise jars. I mean, what is it that tells us to save otherwise useless stuff because we might need it later. And don't look at me in that tone of voice. Open your desk drawer. You probably have paper clips, screws, used file folders, old felt tip pens and a zillion other things crammed in your desk behind that 3-week old emergency Snickers bar.
We just don't like to discard things no matter how hopeless they appear. Take for example your swimming pool. Some of you, like Becky Crane in Big Spring and Tim Campbell in Tyler, have 65-year old swimming pools with which you're just not sure what to do. The concrete floor joints are three inches wide and the pool leaks like a West Texas stock pond in August. It's not deep enough now for that old high-dive, the pipes leak, and the filters still have the original sand. Some of the gate valves still work but you're not sure what they do! Health officials haven't shut you down simply because even they can't find you!
And your city fathers and mothers tell you to open that pool every spring. Why do we do that to ourselves?
For some reason we want to 'recycle'. We recycle aluminum and newspaper and corrugated boxes and whatever. It's the politically correct thing to do but is it always the smart thing to do? Are we trying too hard to make square pegs fit in round holes when what we really need is a new peg board?
So, when is it right to spare an old pool and when is it right to turn it into a sand volleyball court?
In recent years I've been asked this probably more than any other pool construction question. In the lines that follow I want to give you some ideas on how to look like a genius in front of your city council the next time some joker wants to give you $10,000 to repair the pool and wants the change back!
The KEY . . . and write this down . . . is to remember - Your OBJECTIVES are the same as if you were building a NEW $2.0 million aquatic facility. Let's look at it like a journalist would. Every journalist knows to find out the who, what, when, where, and why of every news story. You simply do the same thing.
WHO. Who are we trying to serve here with this re-conditioned pool? Is it for competition and training or is it for entertainment and amusement purposes. If the pool is for competition, we need racing lanes and stripes, targets and deeper water. We may need to deepen the pool to a minimum of 4'-0" so the competitors can do racing dives and flip turns in the shallow end. If the pool is for entertainment, we need a few inches of water and lots of slides, fountains, sprays, and zero depth entry. In that event, we raise the floor or lower the water level. If the pool is for leisure we don't need a lot of 7-foot water do we? If we want to teach swim lessons here, lets put in teaching areas, steps and handholds. Know WHO you're remodeling this pool for before you start!
WHERE. Is the old pool where we would build a new pool if given the chance? Has the neighborhood changed since the pool was built in 1935? Is it now industrially zoned, adjacent to that ultra-modern nuclear waste dump, or is it far from the people who would use it? If the pool is proposed for tourism, can you find it without hiring a guide? You would put a new pool where it was accessible and visible, wouldn't you? Simply put, if you wouldn't put a new pool here, don't waste your money remodeling an old one.
WHEN. What is the swim season going to be? Are you trying to open in March and close in October? Will you use the pool at night and, if so, is the pool and deck adequately lighted? How soon do you have to open the remodeled pool? If you are going to open in March, buy stock in Texas Utilities! Heating an outdoor pool in cold, windy weather can run four grand a month!
WHAT. What can you salvage here? If the filter system is shot and the pipes leak, you may only be recycling a concrete hole in the ground. The excavation and concrete shell for a new pool, while substantial, amount to little more than 20 per cent of the total project cost for a brand new aquatic facility. If that concrete hole is in the wrong location and is the wrong shape, is it really worth it to re-use the thing?
WHY. Why are you doing this? Be aware that not all decisions by officials above you in the food chain are made for sound recreational or even engineering reasons. Many decisions by city councils are made on the basis of egos, back-slapping, and appearances . . . not on whether its smart to open a dangerous pool. With that in mind, keep your head down and try to find the "global concern" of the project's supporters on the city council. It may not help you open the pool but you'll keep your job and you'll sleep better at night!
HOW MUCH. Now this is an item the journalists are not usually trained to pursue. How much have you been budgeted and is it enough? And remember, the COST you are looking to find is NOT the FIRST cost . . . that is, the cost of the initial bid or the installed price. You want to know "annual cost". Over the life cycle of this pool-remodeling project, how much will it cost me annually to operate and maintain this pool. Do you really want to paint the pool again when plaster or vinyl liners will last four times as long? And HOW MUCH also means how much revenue you are going to get.
Let me expand on this just a little more.
Too many city council's today are concerned only with the first cost. They make the mistake of setting an arbitrary budget, say $50,000, and then telling you to do the best you can with it. So you paint the pool, replace the filter, change out a little pipe, and buy new lifeguard stands (with umbrella holders this time). Meanwhile, revenues are not increased and the kids stay away in droves and your staff is tossing pennies to pass the time. Next year you'll ask for $40,000 for operations and maintenance IF they decide to open the pool next year.
But what if you got say $200,000? Fat chance, you sneer! Well, with $200,000 you can fix up the pool cosmetically for sure. But then you add a slide or three, a few interactive fountains, change the entry to a beach style wade-in, put in a little shade, and raise your prices from 75cents to four bucks and cut your annual operating losses by two thirds. And next year its still there and won't have to be redone! All of a sudden, your attendance increases and families stay longer and come more frequently.
I like the success story I heard out of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where several years ago (1995 or 1996, I think) they had your basic trapezoidal pool with a diving board and the usual racing lanes. (Really great pool for small children and other non-swimmers.) They shallowed the entire pool to no depth greater than 2'-0" and installed six or eight fountain type play structures. They didn't remodel the bathhouse, widen the decks, or change the fencing. Since that time they are NETTING, after expenses, about $65,000 per year. Pretty good since they were losing nearly that much every year with their sheep-dip pool. They spent a little over $115,000 to remodel it!
Now, if you want to get your city council's attention, start talking to them not in terms of losses and expenses but in unfamiliar terms like "revenues" and "break-even" and, dare we say it - "profit"!
After you've done the homework and answered the who-what-when-where-why-and how-much questions, you may want to do what Kathy Joslyn has done in Nacogdoches. She had one of those trapezoidal sheep tanks with average attendance of twenty people per day used mostly as inexpensive child-care during the summer. This past spring Kathy filled up the pool, tore down the pump house and bath house and removed all the fences. In the center of what once was the pool, Nacogdoches installed a Miracle Equipment Spraystation . . . sort of a dry-land playground structure with spray nozzles around the various arches, slides, and bridges. For about $115,000, Joslyn created a water feature that runs intermittently (only when the valve buttons are pushed), uses less water than a pool, requires no lifeguard, filters, chemicals or sweeping, and has no standing water. What once was a pool deck is now a perimeter walk around a colorful cushioned rubber surface. Is she crazy for closing a pool and turning it into a sprayground? You be the judge.
