The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

Officials at City Hall are remaining tight-lipped about Hartley's never-opened new pool.

City Administrator Erica Haack last week declined to comment on any potential progress made towards opening the aquatic center this summer. The ribbon was supposed to be cut at the new facility in June of 2022, but a failed safety inspection has kept it shuttered indefinitely.

"I'm not able to go into specifics at this time," said Haack. "Please know we are working diligently to seek a resolution and will share details with the public as soon as possible as we are able."

The city council has not discussed the pool in open session since summer. Mayor Rodney Ahrenstorff briefly mentioned the situation on Monday at the start of the city council meeting. Calling 2022 a "good year and bad year," he hoped there would be some resolution on the pool during the next 12 months.

"Thank goodness 2022 is done and hopefully we'll have a better 2023," he said.

For the seventh time in the last nine gatherings, the council on Monday went into closed session at the conclusion of the meeting citing Iowa Code Section 21.5 (1)(c). The law permits governmental bodies to meet behind closed doors "to discuss strategy with counsel in matters that are presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the governmental body in that litigation."

City Attorney Brandon Krikke has been present either in person or via Zoom call at all but one of the closed sessions. Haack was unable to comment on whether or not the pool was discussed during those times.

The problem

The new aquatic center could not pass a state electrical inspection due to errors made during the construction process. According to information previously presented to the council, Eriksen Construction and the pool's subcontracted electrician, Phillips Electric, of Spirit Lake, didn't follow inspection rules mandated by National Electric Code 680 (NEC 680).

All metal objects in the pool and surrounding areas must be connected by a copper wire in a process called "equipotential bonding." The method is used as a safety measure to reduce the risk of severe shock should stray voltage polarize one of the objects in the pool.

The bonding wire must be inspected by a state or local electrical inspector before it gets buried under concrete to ensure the work was done properly. The inspections didn't take place at Hartley's pool during the construction process, a fact that wasn't known until after a vast majority of work was completed.

State regulations require new pools to follow guidelines set forth in NEC 680. The specs also stipulated that all electrical work follow NEC 680.

NICK PEDLEY/SENTINEL-NEWS

The price tag for Hartley's new pool was approximately $3 million, with $1.75 million coming from a bond issue approved by local residents in March of 2021.

After attempting to reach several work-around solutions, the Iowa Department of Public Safety ultimately decided it could not approve the pool for public use based on the lack of inspections. Neither the pool's design engineer nor state inspectors could verify that bonding work completed at the pool was done properly.

Solution remains up in the air

A plan to remedy issues at the pool received tentative approval by a state board on Aug. 18.

The Iowa Electrical Examining Board approved a plan that would address electrical inspection failures at the pool. The approval came with several stipulations, but nothing more has been said publicly about the situation since late summer.

A third-party structural engineer was to review the plan, which would address the equipotential bonding issues at the facility.