Four years after it was initially closed due to an electrical problem, a new-and-improved Caldwell municipal pool is slated to open next May, Recreation Superintendent Denise Milburn and City Engineer Hallie Hart told the city council on Wednesday.
The tile work and waterproofing on the pool itself is complete, Hart said, while the pool will be plastered, filled and tested next spring.
The existing bathhouse will likely be demolished by the end of the month, and construction on the new one will begin in October.
The old bathhouse measured about 4,000 square feet, a quarter of which was mechanical space, while the new will have about 5,000 square feet of usable space, and mechanical lines will be in a separate structure.
“I want to do a big grand opening for the community, before we actually open for swim,” Milburn said. “May 1 is the goal date to have it all completed.”
Renovation and restructuring are also in the cards for the Caldwell Fire Department, which intends to move Fire Station One under the $17.3 million bond that was passed last fall. At Fire Chief Richard Frawley’s recommendation, the council voted to begin preparing documents for the station’s relocation to the old City Hall site.
A formal resolution to finalize the plan is expected at Sept. 16’s council meeting.
CAR PARK AGREEMENT AND PARKING UPDATE
Last week, before the city voted to suspend enforcement of its unpopular downtown parking meters , Councilwoman Diana Register reported discrepancies between Caldwell and parking management company The Car Park over an alleged equipment lease, which the city had no records or documentation of signing.
This lease, Register said, supposedly would cost Caldwell $120,000 annually until fiscal year 2029. The discrepancy also invited questions about whether such an agreement was in accordance with state law surrounding the process of soliciting bids.
“When it comes to the equipment, that’s the part where it gets a little confusing and blurry,” Register said. “Did we even need a [Request for Proposal] for [the equipment] even if The Car Park bought it? Whether we needed it or not, it still would’ve been an almost $600,000 expense that needed to be approved by the council. We don’t know who said OK, who didn’t say OK, or if The Car Park just went and [bought the equipment] on their own.”
She called for an independent investigation to be conducted into the dispute over the alleged lease. The council, meanwhile, voted to pay more than $47,000 of a $78,142 invoice to The Car Park, minus a $30,796 equipment expense.
The city’s contract with The Car Park will be terminated effective Oct. 1.
As for the future of parking in downtown Caldwell, the city still plans to create a representative committee, featuring residents, to discuss the matter.
“The parking meter charges are gone, however, we still probably have a parking problem,” Mayor Jarom Wagoner said. “That [resolution suspending the meters] passed about 12:30 p.m. on Friday. By 4 p.m., we were getting texts and calls complaining of cars parked in front of businesses for too long.”
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