Progress with the pool?
City attorney says entities 'working together'
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NICK PEDLEY/SENTINEL-NEWS
Equipment that once sat on the west side of Hartley's pool now sits on the east side following a recent move prior to Summer Celebration at Neebel Park.
Whether or not it's open next year is anyone's guess, but there's apparently some joint discussion happening among the entities behind Hartley's never-opened new pool.
"The city, contractor and engineer are working together on a remediation plan," City Attorney Brandon Krikke said on Tuesday. "At this time that is the only update we have."
Krikke on June 29 said the city council had not yet had a chance to discuss a decision by the Iowa Electrical Examining Board (IEEB) that approved a proposal by the pool's general contractor to address issues that led to a failed electrical inspection in 2022. Joint discussion on a remediation plan could mark a turning point in the saga of the new pool, which has remained finished but closed since June of last year.
The IEEB's recent ruling approved a remediation plan that would remove and replace the pool's perimeter decking and reconnect all conductive fixtures to a rebuilt bonding ring. The facility failed a safety examination in 2022 due to errors made during the construction process.
Final inspection last year of the pool's equipotential bonding could not be completed because all concrete work pertaining to its shell and most of the surrounding decking was finished prior to the required inspections being requested by the responsible contractor. Phillips Electric, Inc., of Spirit Lake, was subcontracted to perform electrical work on the project, including installation of all required equipotential bonding equipment.
Eriksen Construction appealed the failed inspection and submitted engineered drawings, photographs, product cut sheets, and employee statements to prove its case. As per the ruling's report, the IEEB investigative committee communicated concerns it had regarding Eriksen Construction's proposed remediation plan that focused primarily on whether steel wire ties were properly installed within the pool's shell.
"Upon review of these additional materials, a consensus of the investigative committee found that Eriksen could now satisfactorily establish compliance with the National Electrical Code's (NEC) requirements for the construction of the pool's shell," the ruling stated.
The ruling also noted IEEB members weighed implications of pool user safety heavily.
"The board does not make this finding lightly as the safety of the pool's users is paramount," it stated. "However, the detailed information provided in support of Eriksen's petition provides clear and convincing evidence in the board's opinion that the wire ties were installed within the pool shell consistent with NEC requirements."
