Albany Pool Construction Delayed, Again

The school semester may be just around the corner, but not the completion of the construction project, as was .

At the meeting Tuesday, David Burke, the pool construction project manager, explained why the completion date for the new has been pushed back , to Nov. 4.

“We’re not happy about adding 101 days,” said Burke to the three board members in attendance. (Members Jonathan Knight and Ron Rosenbaum were not at the meeting.) “But that’s the best situation right now.”

Forty-one contract days were added because of construction setbacks caused by last winter’s rain; another 60 days resulted from the , which officials said were not factored into the original time frame when the project began last September.

, superintendent of the , chimed in during the meeting and explained that the district had not been sure whether any money would be left over from the pool project. Once it was determined that pool costs would come in at $6.179 million, officials decided to use some of the money for additional classrooms.

The contractor, McCrary Construction, has been scrambling to accommodate both projects at the same time, said Burke.

These changes will add $140,712 to the total cost of construction; more than $120,000 goes to cover costs related to the new classrooms.

The board approved the new costs and the extended completion date, but board member expressed his reluctance with the decision.

“I’m still not convinced this is justified,” he said, noting that the board should have been informed about the delays in construction in a timely manner so they could assess the situation, instead of having to take at face value what was presented to them at the board meeting.

“I don’t want to see this still be in construction past the opening of the swim season,” he said.

On the upside, Burke guaranteed that the new classrooms will be up and running by the start of the school year later this month. Fire alarms have already been installed in each unit. Furniture and projectors will be delivered this week. 

Board President  took the Aug. 2 meeting as a chance to introduce the new pool director, Amanda Garcia, who was most recently the director of the Piedmont pool. Garcia will begin her new position Sept. 1. 

"I'm super excited to start," said Garcia, "and want to make sure the pool is open soon."

Burke noted that most of the major pool construction has been done. Any future changes should be small details, he said. The next stage will be to plaster the pool and fill it with water, which will happen in late September or early October, when the mechanical plumbing has been completely installed, said Burke.

“In retrospect, could we have done a better job in estimating the length of the project? I don’t know,” said Superintendent Stephenson, who pointed out that despite delays, the entire project will still come in $1 million under budget.

The remaining bond funds could be used for other projects. Board members were excited about the prospects. The vice president of the board, Paul Black, expressed interest in using the money to install solar panels in classrooms.

In the meantime, all the board members at Tuesday's meeting said they were excited to see the pool finalized.

“It’s a really challenging project and it’s great to see how it’s coming along,” said Maris.

See photos of the pool project, by former pool director Peggy McQuaid, .

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, give editor Emilie Raguso a call at 510-459-8325 or shoot her an email at emilier@patch.com.