LAKEPORT, Calif. – Supporters of the Westshore Pool have gotten some good news.
A newly completed report on soil and slope conditions puts to rest concerns that the four-decade-old pool, located on the Lakeport Unified School District grounds, was built in unstable soil.
“That was good news,” said Lakeport Unified Superintendent Erin Smith-Hagberg.
The California Geological Survey reviewed the report, completed by SHN Consulting Engineers and Geologists of Willits, and signed off on the findings.
As a result, this week the Lakeport Unified School District Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting during which it will consider approving an agreement with the city of Lakeport for operating the pool for recreational swimming this summer.
District officials said the meeting will take place beginning at 6 p.m. this Thursday, June 5, in the boardroom at the district office, 2508 Howard Ave. The agenda also will include a budget hearing and discussion of the district's Adoption of the Local Control and Accountability Plan.
While the soil and slope testing results are good news for those who want to see the pool reopened for the public, so far it appears that the pool may only be open this summer for the use of the Channel Cats swim team.
That's due to the report's late-spring arrival, which gave the city of Lakeport little time to prepare or to hire the required summer staffing – particularly lifeguards – while it waited for the results.
“We're probably not going to have time to put that all together,” Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira told Lake County News.
Issues for the pool arose earlier this year, after Smith-Hagberg discovered in the district's files a December 2003 letter from the Division of the State Architect raising questions about the pool's structural safety and accessibility, as Lake County News has reported.
It was determined that the district had not resolved the issues outlined in the letter by the Division of the State Architect, the state agency responsible for certifying school construction projects.
Since the pool, built in 1973, had not been certified, the district was warned that it was in violation of the state education code and board members were personally liable if any injuries occurred at the facility.
That led the school district board to hold off on reopening the pool in February, when the Channel Cats, Clear Lake and Kelseyville High School swim teams were to begin preparing for spring competition.
The pool was designed by Lakeport engineer Cliff Ruzicka, who offered his services free of charge to help upgrade the pool to address the state's issues. He also pulled the original plans out of his archives to share with local officials.
In March, the district approved a contract with SHN for soil testing. The firm offered a 25-percent discount to the district, with the contract coming out to $10,650. Reduction in the fee was credited by district officials to Ruzicka's efforts.
The geotechnical investigation and slope stability evaluation SHN completed on the pool included three test borings, geotechnical tests, slope stability analyses, geological reconnaissance and soil testing, among other things.
“Based on the results of the field and laboratory investigation, and quantitative slope stability analysis, we conclude that the fill slope and cut slope bordering the pool facility are stable in their current configuration under both static and seismic conditions,” the report stated. “The fill slope appears to have been constructed in a manner that has not created nor contributed to erosion or geologic instability.”
A May 19 letter to Smith-Hagberg from Mark Wiegers, an engineering geologist with the California Geological Survey, stated that the testing results “indicate the slopes at the site have an acceptable factor of safety against failure and can be considered stable.”
Wiegers also noted that during a site visit there were “no visible signs of slope instability at the pool or adjacent areas.”
What's next for the pool
“We knew that we had to have that report from CGS (California Geological Survey) and we obtained that,” said Smith-Hagberg.
However, she said there is a list of items that the Division of the State Architect wants the district to rectify regarding the pool, so the district needs to review that list and decide how to proceed.
Smith-Hagberg said the attorneys for the city and the district are working on an agreement so the pool can be used by the Channel Cats this summer.
She said that agreement for summer pool operation has to be approved by the district board, thus the Thursday meeting.
“We want to get the Channel Cats in the pool as soon as possible,” Smith-Hagberg said.
Silveira said the Channel Cats may take over the summer swim lessons that the city has previously provided, but she cautioned that not all of the details have been confirmed.
“We are excited to be back in the pool,” said Jennifer Hanson, president of the Channel Cats.
Hanson said she met with Lakeport Public Works Director Mark Brannigan and Public Works Superintendent Doug Grider on May 21 regarding the swim team's use of the pool this summer.
“We have to totally operate it,” said Hanson. “We have to do everything.”
That means that the team also will have to take on purchasing chemicals and handling other aspects of the pool operation, she said.
“They're going to allow us to offer swim lessons, so that’s good. That was our main thing,” Hanson said.
As for the future of the high school swim teams and where they will practice, it's hard to tell, Hanson said.
“There's no guarantee the high school team will be there,” she said of Westshore Pool.
Earlier his year, with the Westshore Pool unavailable, the swim teams worked out at Quail Run Fitness in Lakeport, but Hanson said they had to travel more to out-of-county meets because Quail Run does not have a pool that fits competition specifications.
“The kids did better this year than they ever have before,” Hanson said.
The swim team, city and school district are all discussing holding a meeting in the not-too-distant future for all of the stakeholders, which also includes the county.
Silveira said it's going to be important for everyone to sit down and talk about how they see the pool operations going in the future.
Because the city isn't under the authority of the Division of the State Architect, Silveira said the city likely can continue some aspects of the pool operation. That will be a consideration as the city, county and school district sit down to discuss future partnerships, she said.
Hanson wants to see everyone pitch in to keep the pool available to local children. She said the majority of children on the swim team and who participate in the public swim are county – not city – residents.
Smith-Hagberg said she believes that after that stakeholder meeting the district will have to decide what to do next.
She said of the board, “I think they'll expect me to bring them a recommendation.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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