BOARD APPROVES BID FOR NEW 'BUBBLE' FOR POOL

Swimming classes may be a bit late in getting started at Cape Central this year.

The new bubble, which will cover the Central Municipal Swimming Pool, won't be in place until late October or early November.

The bubble facility will be provided by Byrdair Co. of New York, the low bidder, at $196,100. Yeadon Air Structures turned in a bid of $199,700.

Insurance will provide the bulk of the cost for the replacement bubble, said Stephen C. Del Vecchio, business manager of Cape Girardeau School District #63.

The school board approved the Byrdair bid for the new bubble during a special meeting of the Board of Education Tuesday.

Also announced at the brief board meeting Tuesday was a staff change. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dan Steska announced that teacher Helen Gibbar has been named as Instructional Technology & Grant Coordinator, a new position in the district.

Gibbar will continues her duties as a science teacher until a replacement is found.

The previous bubble over the pool at Central High School was destroyed by a storm which swept through the area in April of this year.

The new bubble will include a "Tedlar" coating, which is expected to preserve the structure and make it easier for snow removal, said Del Vecchio.

The previous pool cover, installed in 1992, was damaged twice by storm activity, in April of 1998 and April of 1999.

The pool is a public facility. The high school does have a physical education curriculum and the swim team practices here, but the pool is open for public swimming every day.

The pool was a 1979 cooperative project by Cape Girardeau City Hall and the Cape Girardeau School District to build, maintain and operate a swimming pool throughout the year on the campus of Central High School.

The first bubble was installed in 1979, and lasted 13 years before it was replaced in 1992.

The lifetime of the bubble is between 10 and 15 years.

During the special session, mark Carver suggested looking into a permanent type of structure for the swimming pool.

"This is the third bubble for the facility in 20 years," said Carver. "We should look into something that won't be getting blown down all the time."

Some collapsible buildings are available, said Del Vecchio. But, the price range is about a half-million dollars.