Bridgeport council dives in for pool renovation contractor

BRIDGEPORT – Council members discussed renovations to the city’s public pool at Berryman Park during the regular monthly meeting last Wednesday, March 15.

Public Works Superintendent Stuart Dezellem reported that invitations for bids (IFB) for specific pool repairs were sent to three contractors and one responded.

“We received one bid from Jh Construction & Sons out of Wenatchee,” said Dezellem. “We budgeted $75,000 for this project and the bid came in a little higher than that.”

Dezellem said the quote to paint, sandblast, and regrout the concrete section is $84,000 and to retile the water line at the level of the pool water skimmers is an additional $8,000 bring the total to $92,000. The pool is missing some tiles and the city has used up the extras it purchased so that leaves two options: either remove all the waterline tiles and repaint that area or retile it.

The extra funds needed to come up with the difference of $16,000 from other city sources has been found.

Dezellem said the pool has not seen a major facelift in the 15 years he has served at public works.

“Public works painted it twice,” said Dezellem.

He noted that the tile mastic fails over time because the pool is considered a caustic environment owing to the level of the high chlorination.

Pool manager/council member Jackie Hentges inquired about the difference in difficulty between cleaning tiled surfaces versus painted ones. Council members also discussed using larger six-inch-by-six-inch tiles to replace the current four-inch ones.

The council voted to approve the $92,000 contract bid plus tax to cover any additional charges that might come up.

Venting the air

The Bridgeport Library has received funds from NCW Libraries as part of a system-wide renovation of its network of branches. Mayor Janet Conklin said the local branch approached the city last summer to request that the city agree to make a portion of specific upgrades.

The library submitted a contract to the mayor asking the city to install a ventilation system to bring fresh outside air into the building. Dezellem estimated the city’s cost at $12,500 just for the unit alone, not including installation. He said the city would need to cut the access in the roof and hire a contractor to seal the access after the unit is installed.

This type of system has been growing in popularity possibly due to the Covid pandemic, said Dezellem, and more buildings and high-scale home projects are incorporating ventilation design that brings in outside air.

Mayor Conklin said she has scheduled another meeting with the library to discuss the project and possible options and will bring the results to a future meeting.