A tour of the Sam Ketcham Pool upgrade project by Tango Management Tuesday provided a solid framework of its progress.
Tango Management project managers Lewis Reilly and John Bowser invited city and Cariboo Regional District officials and media inside the construction zone to see what’s been completed and what’s to follow heading into the fall and winter.
To date, everything is on schedule and on budget for the pool’s estimated completion date in the fall of 2017, Reilly said.
“A lot’s happened in the last short period of time,” Reilly said. “It’s what we call the critical path, which is a big milestone for this project.”
Reilly explained the critical path consists of the completion of the dark, grey steel post structure surrounding what will be the new 25-metre lap pool, the red steel of the mechanical room and preparing to build the roof deck and siding before winter.
“The next upcoming activities are the external paint, external panels and roof, which we’re aiming to have done by early October,” he said. “That’s a big deal for us to get this building weather tight before the snow flies.”
Reilly said the same plan is in place for the mechanical room and fitness area, which will give construction workers a winter working program, allowing them to be inside and out of the elements.
“And then we can start continuing with our excavating and primary painting and forming that pool tank and getting to the finish,” he said.
By the spring of 2017, Reilly said work will begin on phase two of the project, which will consist of the new leisure pool component of the project.
“In through the fall and winter we’re hoping to complete the work for the new lap tank, then hand it over open to the public and go over to the other side of that wall and work on our leisure component,” he said.
Additionally, paving began Wednesday on the new parking lot which, once completed — in conjunction with the reconfiguration of the current parking lot — will create 105 new parking stalls for the public.
“We’re looking to put traffic on there by the end of next week,” Reilly said. “We’ll be working through into next week and we’ll do some water tests to make sure the grades and runoffs are into the right catchment areas. Then, we’re looking for a signoff from the city by the end of next week.
“At the same time we’ll have everything lined, parking stalls set out and traffic on there.”
During Tuesday’s city council meeting Coun. Laurie Walters said 60 per cent of the workforce at the site is from the area.
Reilly, meanwhile, said he couldn’t be happier with how everything’s come together so far.
“We’re very pleased with the crews,” he said. “They’ve been working extremely well, along with working with [city officials]. VDA Architecture group of consultants have really spent the money in the right places. Hats off to them.
“We can really feel the mass of it now.”
The Sam Ketcham Pool upgrade project is budgeted at $13.1 million. To date, the project has received roughly $5.5 million in grant funding.
Back in November of 2014, a public referendum passed allowing the CRD to borrow up to $10 million to complete the project.