A Junior Olympic lane pool is visible just beyond the water slide while the leisure and toddler pools are on the left side of the above image. A recent shot of the inside of the aquatic centre shows the general layout of the building. The 20-person hot tub is just below where the image was captured.
Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The work continues on the new Kindersley Aquatic Centre and the project manager says the work is getting down to the final touches and fine tuning.
The aquatic centre project is being built by a consortium of two companies: Pro-Bilt Structures Ltd., a local company, and Western Recreation and Development Inc. The project started in about the fall of 2017 and it is expected to be operational by early in 2019.
Both the Junior Olympic lane pool and leisure pool have been completed, along with the toddler pool and 20-person hot tub. The plumbing has all been installed for return lines and the lines to empty and fill the pool basins.
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The mechanical room is nearly finished with only minor items left to go. Project officials were planning to test the main boiler near the end of last week. The two pools are heated by other sources. The work continues on the office, private party room and change room areas.
There will be a controlled entrance for both change rooms. The doors will be opened electronically by staff at the entrance of the facility. The building will be energy efficient, and there will be plenty of features to keep people busy.
The water slide is nearly finished, but the diving boards have yet to be installed. There are a couple of extra water features in the leisure and toddler pools, and a circular walking area that will serve as a miniature lazy river. Inside the circular area is another area with bench seating for people to use.
Jeff Meyer of Pro-Bilt Structures, the project manager, said he believes the project is coming along well given the challenges and scope of the build. He noted that he would prefer if the work was farther along, but it is a large project that has presented a range of challenges.
“We’re behind where we wanted to be at, but there’s quite a few unknowns as far as working around the pool construction,” he explained. “We anticipated some of the challenges and some challenges came up that we didn’t anticipate, and that takes time.”
He said the company is used to building structures, but there are different constraints when working around people building pool basins and other items. Meyer said the logistics of the project posed the main challenges.
The project manager said Western Recreation and Development has been great to work with on the project, and there has been a lot of give and take on both sides when either group needed more time to work on a particular aspect of the project. Pro-Bilt Structures has worked on large projects before, but an indoor aquatic facility presents an different set of challenges for everyone involved including builders and engineers, he said.
Meyer said the important thing is to get it right and to avoid any mistakes. Admittedly, he said the project is more personal to him as a person who lives in the community and has kids that will grow up using the facility. He noted that his family and other families are going to enjoy the facility.
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