Ad-hoc aquatic committee's recomendations

Editor's note: The following letter was submitted to Scott Meyer, city manager of the City of Cape Girardeau, and Dr. Neil Glass, superintendent of the Cape Girardeau Public School District, regarding the ad-hoc aquatics committee's recommendation for an aquatic center. The city and school board will hold a joint meeting today to discuss the recommendations by the committee. The full presentation can be found by following this link.

Gentlemen,

The Ad-Hoc Aquatics Committee has met to and reached unanimous agreement on their findings. The purpose of this letter is to share the committee's findings with you, the Cape Girardeau City Council, and the Cape Girardeau Public School Board.

Findings

• Building a new indoor 50-meter by 25-yard competition pool with a leisure pool is not within the project's current $10 million budget. It is estimated this type of pool would cost in excess of $20 million.
• The largest indoor competition + leisure pool facility to fit within the $10 million budget is estimated to be an 8- lane, 25-yard competition pool with a 3,000-square-foot leisure pool. This however; would eliminate one of the key priorities of the committee which is a 50m pool and the possibility of long-course swimming, hosting long-course swim meets, and the economic impact associated with those events.
• The most cost-effective way to keep an indoor 50-meter by 25-yard competition pool in Cape Girardeau is to renovate and cover the existing Central Pool.
• $10 Million is a tight budget to renovate and enclose Central Pool in addition to building an enclosed leisure pool at Jefferson Elementary School.
• A renovated Central Pool has the potential for improved performance and a higher cost recovery rate compared to its historical performance. In addition, the proposed "Sprung Structure" permanent cover would result in better air quality compared to the existing bubble.
• An indoor leisure pool at Jefferson Elementary can recover 50% to 60% of its expenses through recreational swim, community wellness programs, and swimming lessons as well as providing enhanced revenue through fees, sponsorships, grants and other funding options as applied.
• Operating a renovated Central Pool and a new indoor leisure pool at Jefferson would provide the Cape Girardeau regional community with ideal water temperature for the differing needs of the recreational, competitive, instructional, and wellness aquatic user groups.
• Construction costs for a Sprung Structure leisure pool at Jefferson Elementary are estimated at $2.9 million with total costs (including FF&E, Escalation, Contingency, Design Fees, Surveys, & Permitting) of $4.2 million.
• Renovation costs for a Sprung Structure 50-meter by 25-yard pool at Central Pool are estimated at $5.6 million with total costs (including FF&E, Escalation, Contingency, Design Fees, Surveys, Permitting, & Geotech) of $7.7 million.
• Total costs for the two projects would be approximately $11.9 million. If additional funds are not available, efforts could be made to reduce the total project costs to $10 million by reducing the project budget on the Jefferson Elementary pool to $4 million and reducing the project budget on the Central Pool renovation to $6 million. (The final presentation from Counsilman-Hunsaker containing cost estimates is attached.)
• The cost for operations of the two facilities would be more than the cost to operate the current Central Pool facility. Estimates are that annual operating costs could potentially double; however, this does not take into account offsetting fees, charges, rentals, grants, sponsorships and other alternative revenue sources.

The Ad-Hoc Aquatics committee has unanimously agreed to these findings, and upon adjournment of the October 17, 2019 meeting has completed its work.

As chairman of the committee, it is with great appreciation for the members of the committee, and their service to our community, that I submit these findings to you.

Should you have questions on any of the findings, or on the process the committee followed to arrive at these findings, don't hesitate to contact me.

Respectfully,

Jeff W. Glenn, chairman Ad-Hoc Aquatics Committee.