Contractor approved for permanent Central Pool structure

Cape Girardeau City Council members voted unanimously at their meeting Monday, Nov. 21, to approve a contractor for Central Municipal Pool renovations.

The $6 million project has been awarded to Penzel Construction Co., a frequent contracting partner with the city. The Jackson-based company was among five contractors that submitted bids for the project.

"This is going to be a really nice thing for us to get done," Doug Gannon, director of Parks and Recreation Department, said in an interview prior to Monday's meeting.

"I think the community is going to be very proud of it." A sentiment echoed by numerous council members just a few hours later.

The funds for the renovation come from the Parks, Recreation and Storm Water Tax Phase 2 (PSR-2), a 15-year, three-eighths cent sales tax renewed by voters in 2018. Despite inflation and an increase in supply costs in the years since the project was first approved, Gannon said the initial $6 million will likely be enough to complete the improvements. The director said Penzel has provided city officials with "confidence" the project is going to be completed on time and on budget.

At the meeting, Gannon said some contingency funds have been set aside in case additional expenses occur during construction. He said the safety net funds plus the flexibility of working with a 15-year tax will allow them to accommodate increases in costs while still delivering on the city's vision for other projects.

There will be a little wiggle room for interior design but that the majority of the details are hammered out, he added.

"It will always be a 50-meter pool, right?" Mayor Stacy Kinder said jokingly, highlighting one of the set-in-stone details of the project.

"Yes," Gannon replied, making Kinder laugh.

The improvements will center around constructing a permanent building at Central Pool, foregoing the use of the bubble — an inflatable, temporary structure that allows the outdoor pool to operate during colder times of the year — which has been utilized at the pool since it first opened in 1979.

Gannon said a permanent structure will mean better air quality and ability to control the temperature. He added that putting up the bubble every season requires a significant amount of personnel.

The bubble was not put up this year. City officials announced in late September that during a evaluations of the facility a crack was discovered in the heat exchanger, limiting the system's ability to heat the bubble. Decision-makers at the city and Cape Girardeau School District elected to close the pool for the foreseeable future until the renovations were complete. A new heating system would cost upward of $70,000, wouldn't have arrived for several months and wouldn't be usable at the renovated pool.

The new building will be the same dimensions as the current area where the pool exists; 120 feet wide, 200 feet long and 34 feet high at the center, enough room for a three-meter board at the pool. Gannon said there will be more room for spectator seating in the permanent structure, the bubble created a 45 degree angle on the sides, limiting seating.

The structure will be a NUCOR pre-engineered metal building, the same design as the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex — a project completed by Penzel.

Renovations also include the a new mechanical recirculation system — for water quality — that Gannon characterized as "state of the art" and improvements to aging infrastructure in the pool walls, among other things.

The project, since it's inception, has been linked with the aquatics facility being built at Jefferson Elementary School. Originally, city and school officials planned to build one new indoor aquatic facility in Cape Girardeau using funding from PSR-2 and a school bond issue.

An ad-hoc group comprised of city officials, council members — including then-Councilwoman Kinder — school officials and community members hosted discussions and received proposals to build a facility with both competitive and leisure components. The committee was often divided on issues with a rift forming over where to put the facility.

In October 2019, the committee introduced the idea of a two-pool plan following a consultant's proposal for one facility coming with a price tag of $27 million. The plan would eventually morph into the current Central Pool and Jefferson Elementary projects. The Central Pool is being funded by city dollars and the Jefferson facility is utilizing school district funds. Both will be managed by a city and school partnership.

Councilman Robbie Guard said at the meeting that the pool odyssey was more controversial than he and many others expected but the current plan with Central Pool is delivering on what was initially promised.

According to a plan attached to the City Council meeting agenda, construction is set to begin in March, but Gannon said it could start earlier. It is anticipated renovations will be complete fall 2023. The timetable was a factor in the decision; the director said the second-place contractor estimated the renovations would be complete six months later than Penzel's estimate.