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Council hears progress update on Abirah Wellness Center; pool remains primary outstanding work
Summary
City staff reported that gym and studio finishes are complete, locker rooms and offices are near completion and furniture is installed, but the pool remains the main construction task. An employee open house is scheduled and hiring continues; early-bird memberships (about 83) are already generating revenue that can be used immediately.
At its Feb. 12 meeting, the City Council received a construction and staffing update on the Abirah and Wellness Center from Joel, who said most interior work is complete but the pool remains the primary area still under heavy construction.
Joel said the gym floor and track are finished and sealed, and the fitness studio mirrors and wood floor have been completed and are being cleaned. ‘‘The track is done,’’ Joel said. He added that the floor and studio finish work is complete and that a cleaning crew is on-site to finalize those spaces.
The nut graf: The update matters because the wellness center is a city capital project that will house community programs, offices and locker rooms; its remaining work and staffing timeline affect when the public will be able to use the facility.
Joel told the council that classrooms and locker rooms have flooring and that furniture for offices and rooms has been delivered and assembled. He said partitions are up in the locker rooms and that only bathroom fixtures remain to be finished there. He said scoreboards/TVs for the gym will be installed later in February. ‘‘The pool continues to be, as we expected, the one that will take us through to the very end,’’ Joel said, describing the pool as the area where ‘‘most work will be done.’’
Joel said he has been receiving applications for child-watch attendants, front-desk (wellness center attendant) positions and for the facility director post, and that hiring will continue.
When a councilmember asked about the membership drive, Joel said the early-bird total remains about 83 memberships and that many potential members are waiting until the facility opens in March. The councilmember also asked whether early-bird membership revenue is available for immediate use; Joel replied, ‘‘Correct. And that was the whole purpose behind it,’’ explaining the early-bird structure helps cover payroll as staff are hired.
Joel invited council members to a city-employee open house scheduled for 4:00 p.m. the following day to tour the facility; he said Samson will also be present to answer questions.
The report closed with Joel saying a punch-list inspection is expected after the remaining pool and locker-room fixture work is complete and that he anticipates giving a fuller public update at the next monthly meeting.
Less critical details: Joel said televisions for scoreboards will come later in February and that the pool work is progressing slowly but steadily. He recommended another update next month and fielded questions about membership revenue and hiring.
Ending: The council did not take formal action on the update; staff will return with further progress reports and a punch-list timeline once pool work nears completion.
