Construction Update

Pool Users,

Please find attached the Construction Update for the Fremont Pool shower renovation.  It appears that the plan is about the same as we were informed earlier. The expected completion date – November 1^st – is also about what we expected.  We have heard and seen the construction workers on site every day and Blach Construction has an excellent reputation.  

 Also as planned, we will need to vacate the student shower rooms in mid-August when school starts up again. The arrangements for changing area and toilets are going to be very close by, right next to the gym, but do be prepared for an older building.

The shower will be the most challenging.  As the outdoor shower on the public shower building will not be ready in two weeks, we will be given the opportunity to ‘rinse off’ only until the outdoor shower is usable.  Thus, some people will be inconvenienced.  The construction company is targeting September 1st as a completion date for the exterior showers providing the construction schedule remains on target and it is approved by the State Architect. Please be patient and it will all be over soon.

We are looking forward to an excellent outcome and are nearly halfway there!  Please be thankful to the high school district and remember that this pool is not on city property. The only swimming pool the City of Sunnyvale owns is the Washington Pool, the rest of our aquatic needs are met via joint-use agreements with the schools.

Thanks so much!  It will all be over soon. See the links below for more information.

Holly

 http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Portals/0/Sunnyvale/DCS/Recreation/Sports/FremontPoolConstructionMap.pdf


http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Portals/0/Sunnyvale/DCS/Recreation/Sports/FremontPoolUpdateAug2014.pdf

Impending Locker Room Renovation

This post is to provide an update on the ADA location as part of the locker room remodel and remind pool users of the impending renovation.

The renovation of the locker room will begin on Monday, June 9^th.  The pool will be open during the renovation.  Alternate shower and changing areas will be provided.  The entrance to the pool patrons will use is just a few feet from the current entrance. 

ALL OF US AT THE FRIENDS OF THE FREMONT POOL ARE DELIGHTED THAT THIS RENOVATION IS GOING FORWARD.  WE EXPECT THAT EVERYONE WILL COOPERATE WITH THE INCONVENIENCE AS WE EQUALLY ANTICIPATE AN EXCELLENT OUTCOME.  

In a meeting on May 28^th between FFP, the school district and the city staff, we came to the following conclusions regarding the ADA area. The needs of persons who use wheelchairs are quite different from the needs of people who use walkers. Due to the circumference of the wheelchair clearance and its effect on the regular benches the Northeast location of the ADA bench was a reasonable location.  We also concluded that a person using a walker would probably use the lockers and benches closest to the entrance.  School and city staff agreed to add a grab bar on a locker in this proximity after evaluating the behavior of person(s) who uses the locker room with a walker.  School and city staff also agreed to seek out any other reasonable accommodations for persons who use walkers.

Thank you.

Holly

News and Updates – Pool Locker Room Renovation

Renovation

We are excited to announce a number of updates to the plans!  The entire floor in both locker rooms will be replaced and re-sloped.  The new floor will be a gritty, epoxy like substance which is currently in favor with pool locker rooms.  We feel it will be less slippery and should stay cleaner.

We had a concern about hooks in lockers and their ability to hold adult clothing.  We have confirmed that hooks are deep (so they should hold the clothing) and additional hooks will be installed in the lockers.  We were unable to get any full sized-locker configurations, however.

It may be possible to move the ADA area closer to the entrance.  We have sent a letter of support to the city/school to get it moved and make the locker room truly more accessible.

Some further explanations were provided by city staff for some of our questions:

Both the men’s and the women’s rooms have two floor drains and one clean out (The men’s drain system also connects to a cleanout.)  The new shower drains will meet CA building code and were approved by the State architect, and they exceed the fixture requirement per drain size.  Similar shower heads are currently in place at Washington Pool. A vertical 18” stainless steel grab bar will be installed on the wall adjacent to the shower.  There will be three hair /hand dryers in each restroom. The benches will be of the same width and in the same locations.  The lockers list is: 26 Z-lockers, 22 half lockers, 12 personal lockers and 36 cubbies.  Lock hasps will receive standard padlocks and combination locks. There will be two above counter outlets at each vanity. The city will work with the district to explore adding exterior outlets. The work will be warrantied for 12-months for workmanship and the installed products of course each come with warranties.  The new Zurn shower trench drain system and lockers are designed to last the lifespan of the building. The shower valve life expectancy is also based on normal wear and tear and generally a rebuild of these is necessary after 24-36 months.  The faucets will need to be adjusted throughout the life of the faucet.  In regards to the contracts, there are no incentives or recourse for either finishing early or for delay.  The city will review the cost elements in the contract before the contracted is executed.

We thank the city’s Community Services Department and Public Works Department for their diligence on all of these items and look forward to their participation all the way through.  We thank the Fremont Union High School District for providing the site for aquatics and for leading this renovation project.

And from CSC –‘Summer Construction’ Update 

The pool house and locker rooms will be undergoing renovations this summer.  All programs are expected to run as scheduled. For more information about the project, Please visit:

http://www.calsportscenter.com/docs/LettertoFremontPoolpatrons5.16.2014.pdf

For a map of expected access areas, please visit:

http://www.calsportscenter.com/docs/CSCDirectionalMap.pdf

Final Note - Construction begins June 9^th and we will be directed to use the school’s boys and girls locker rooms for the summer. 

The city informed us that the boys and girls locker rooms will be cleaned out following the last day of school on June 5^th.  After August 11^th, alternative locker rooms will be available on site.

We are very pleased with this progress!  Everyone will work together cooperatively to ensure smooth transitions and relationships!!!

Result of Pool Locker Room Renovation Meeting

Swimmers,

On Wednesday, April 16^th a meeting was held by City of Sunnyvale staff [Dan Wax (Community Services), Robert Van Heusen (Public Works Facilities) and Nancy Grove (Community Services)] and the public.  This Community Information session, attended by ~20 swimmers or CSC workers, was to tell us about the design plans and schedule for the pool locker room renovation project.  

The outcome was that many areas are of concern, the largest of which is the plan to only replace the floor in the shower rooms, not the changing rooms or the bathrooms (except for a patch where a drain would be located).  Swimmers expressed deep concerns regarding this plan because:  a) a slope to drains cannot be realized without the replacement of the entire floor and b) a $1.6m renovation is not a wise investment if the result is a patched floor where the same safety/mold problems develop once again.

Below is a list of our anticipated follow-ups from city staff.  We expect that Dan Wax in Community Services will get back to us in one week. They will have replies or they will need an extra week as the school is on Spring break and this could impact the efficiency of replies.

Drains: Follow-up: Staff to find out why, from the architect, on the women’s side the drain under the benches will not be going all the way to the wall or how that area will adequately drain. (Architect Noll & Tan)

Floor: Follow-up:  Staff to re-investigate the replacement of the entire tile floor and ensure a slight slope to the drains.  Staff to find out why/if the extra drain is not present on the women’s side. Staff to collect actual ‘in field’ recommendations on flooring.

Accessibility: Follow-up: Staff to find out if they can flip the room and rearrange space to accommodate disabled user preferences.  Staff to let the public know if they need assistance speaking with the state architect.

Lockers: Follow-up: Investigate adding some full size lockers.  Investigate and ‘field test’ the hooks in the lockers to ensure that clothes do not fall off.

Shower Heads:  Follow-up: Staff should research the hardware more thoroughly, obtain user reviews and check shower head usage when all showers are working at once.

Electrical outlets: Follow-up: Can we get more outlets near the vending machines or anywhere in the exterior area?

Other: Mechanical equipment, wall tile, benches, soap insets, grab bars, clothing hooks, hair dryers, suit spinners, toilet heights, were either discussed and the swim community had no concern associated with the items or we ran out of time to discuss these items thoroughly.

Schedule: Construction starts June 9^th.  School is using Blach construction and their subs.  We may use the school lockers until August 10^th.  Likely completion is October.  The plan is for the office to be located in the football ticket booth and (hopefully) for the outdoor shower to be completed for shower use and for the changing/toilet area to be the ones in the gymnasium annex building.

Contract: Desire for City Attorney to review the contract.  Should look for incentive clauses for early or late completion.  Should look for recourse clauses and their duration.  Should look for life expectancy of drains and components.

Tony Giles is the city’s Risk Manager (liability issues).

 

If you have questions, please contact Holly, Chair of the Friends of the Fremont Pool Steering Committee at halof@sbcglobal.net or Dan Wax, City of Sunnyvale Community Services Superintendent at dwax@sunnyvale.ca.gov.

I will provide another report once we determine how our complaints have been handled.

Thank you.

Holly