FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio — The Gemini Center Aquatic Facility's Leisure Pool has been closed for almost two weeks, and it now has a councilman demanding an investigation into the process of construction and reopening.
The $14.1 million aquatic facility reopened on June 26 after five years of planning and building. It was initially closed due to a leaky roof and leaky pool.
In the time it had been open, which was barely a month, there have been closures due to issues with rising humidity levels.
"Our main issue at this point is that one of our air handlers, the one specifically that is supposed to tend to the humidity levels in our leisure pool area, is not functioning correctly. The humidity levels have risen up to a point where it's not really safe for occupancy. It becomes very uncomfortable. So, in all, to be safe with our patrons, we decided to close the pool down," Fairview Park Mayor Bill Schneider told us.
Levels, at one point, returned to normal, but then Schneider said more problems popped up.
"Unfortunately, it seems that the problem is not so much sensors or controls, but we possibly have a power issue," Schneider said.
Additional work was also to be tended to. Crews are to repair bubbling that developed in sections of the leisure pool lining, replace cracked tiles, continue HVAC testing and adjustments, and replace a scheduled electrical panel.
In a press release from the city published to social media earlier this month, the aquatic facility remains under warranty and had not yet been officially commissioned or accepted by the city.
Ward 5 Councilman Rick Raley told me some of the issues now being dealt with have been brought to the city's attention before, even prior to reopening.
"About a week or two before the scheduled reopening, there was a report that there was some sort of an issue with the pool liner. We actually received that from a citizen. When the mayor was asked about that, he dismissed it as rumors, said it's not a big deal, and he continued forward with that scheduled reopening. We had the reopening on June 26, and I mean, the problems began immediately. There were problems, closures, and there were shifting explanations for what was going on that caused those closures," Raley said.
He said, as a councilman, if he'd known more about the construction of the center, he would've asked that the reopening be postponed to a later date to ensure the integrity of it all.
"I think Fairview Park is an amazing city. I have amazing neighbors. My wife's a native of Fairview Park. I'm proud to raise my children here. They really deserved better in all of this. They deserved to know what was actually going on before the reopening and in this whole process," Raley said.
He's now weighing the idea of requesting an investigation.
"I think that's where I am going to look into this so I can get an explanation for all of these misrepresentations and misstatements. I think that it's when we have a full public meeting where all of these issues can be addressed publicly, that's going to solve this problem," he told me. "We need to see the documents. We need to verify what's going on. We can't just rely on the word of the administration or the contractors. We have to see the receipts."
According to the latest update, as of Friday, electrical panel and meter repairs have been completed.
Pool liner bubbles have been removed, and the liner has been repaired in those areas as well.
The city's website says, "The date for reopening of the Leisure Pool has not been determined as of yet."
When we talked to the mayor last week, he sounded hopeful the closure wouldn't be long.
"This will not be, you know, knock on wood, famous last words, a long closure at all," Schneider said. "I believe construction was adequate. These are hiccups that you find when you start up a new facility, and we are renovating an old facility that already had problems. We expected to at least find some issues in the future. We're thankful that the issues cropped up somewhat soon because we still have all of our construction crews available."
In the meantime, the city is bouncing around ideas on how to serve residents who purchased memberships to this facility and essentially lost money due to the closures.
"The rec staff is looking at possibly extending memberships out at least another month, just so that we give our patrons a full experience," Schneider said.
Raley said he's already considered legislation to get some sort of refund ordered as well.
"I'm glad that the administration has indicated that they're working on something. Depending on what the specifics of that are, I'm inclined to support something, but I think clearly there has to be a refund. There has to be an offer to extend people's memberships for longer for the periods that they couldn't use the pool. I think that's a bare minimum expectation," Raley said.
Raley is hoping the city will also find a way to compensate the lifeguards who were hired, then had their hours cut due to the closures.
"We have to find a way to make those people whole too. I don't want to have our nice neighborhood kids looking for their summer jobs to be basically left out in the cold by their city," Raley said.
Once we learn more about a reopening date, We'll Follow Through.
