LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Unified School District Board of Trustees this week will discuss the situation surrounding the Westshore Pool, which remains closed due to concerns about its safety and accessibility.
The board will meet in closed session at 5:30 p.m. before convening in open session at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, at the Lakeport Unified District Office, 2508 Howard Ave.
The district office reported that the Westshore Pool item that Dave Norris – the district's director of maintenance, operations and transportation – will take to the board is for discussion only, with no action agendized.
No report was available ahead of the meeting, however, the district indicated that there will be a detailed report offered at the meeting regarding the structural improvements needed to open the pool based on the requirements of the Division of the State Architect and the Field Act, which mandates earthquake resistant construction.
The city of Lakeport has taken primary responsibility for running the pool for several years, despite the fact that the pool is owned by the school district and there is a 2004 contract between the city and school district for sharing pool-related expenses.
Last fall the pool pump broke and the Lakeport City Council voted to fix it – the cost is estimated at about $9,500 – but asked the district to begin contributing to the pool's costs once again.
In December, the school board had indicated it wanted to find ways to open the pool so the Channel Cats and the Clear Lake High School swim team could begin practicing for competition this month.
However, last month Superintendent Erin Smith-Hagberg told the Lakeport City Council that over the Christmas holiday break she found a December 2003 letter saying that the pool – constructed in 1973 – was built without the Division of the State Architect's approval or inspection, as Lake County News has reported.
The letter includes “preliminary findings of the complex based on limited information” and raises issues with the pool's accessibility, said its construction does not meet current state code, and points to potential safety issues with its structure and the location of some equipment.
Based on statements by the school district and the Division of the State Architect's responses to questions from Lake County News, the district did not originally respond to the agency's concerns.
As a result of the letter's recent discovery, the district has not reopened the pool. Quail Run Fitness Center has offered the swim team a place to practice so the swimmers can compete this spring.
Smith-Hagberg told the Lakeport City Council last month that priority repair items totaled about $34,000.
At the Board of Supervisors' Feb. 4 meeting, Supervisor Anthony Farrington asked for, and received, approval to provide $15,000 – which already had been set aside for the pool – to help fund needed capital improvements or professional services in order to get the facility reopened.
The supervisors, also at Farrington’s suggestion, agreed to hold off on allocating another $15,000 that had been set aside in this year’s budget for a solar project at the pool in advance of getting all parties – city, county and school district – to the table to discuss contributions.
They also agreed to send letters to the Division of the State Architect asking to meet with local representatives as soon as possible. Farrington himself sent such a letter to the Division of the State Architect asking to meet to work on the issues.
“The County is extremely concerned about the impact the closed pool will have on the local swim teams, which rely on this facility for meets, and want to pursue a swift resolution to the DSA's concerns,” Farrington wrote. “This facility is also a key regional recreational amenity that would be sorely missed.”
Engineer Cliff Ruzicka, who originally designed the pool, also has volunteered his time and professional services to help improve the facility, Farrington said.
Farrington also sent a letter to Lakeport Unified Board Chair Phil Kirby Feb. 7 informing him of the county’s monetary contribution to the pool and noting he had reached out to the state in an effort to resolve the matter.
“The Board recognizes the benefits that the pool provides to the residents of the unincorporated areas of the County, as well as the residents of Lakeport and students of the Lakeport Unified School District,” Farrington wrote, adding the board recognized the necessary capital improvements are too much for one or two entities to bear.
“We strongly encourage you to review the District's budget to determine the availability of funds that could also be allocated towards the cost of these improvements and make a financial contribution to this worthwhile project,” Farrington said.
The Lakeport Unified School District contacted the Division of the State Architect last week to ask for a meeting, according to Ken Hunt, a Division of the State Architect spokesman.
Hunt said that meeting – which will include a discussion about the outstanding issues noted in the original letter – was to take place this week.
As to whether the issues could be resolved so the pool can be reopened, Hunt told Lake County News that’s a question the district will need to answer.
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