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San Gabriel recreation center closed for emergency repairs; Smith Park Pool closed until heater replaced
Summary
City staff told the Community Services Commission the Community Recreation Center will be closed through Jan. 11 for emergency repairs and Smith Park Pool remains fully closed while a replacement heater part is ordered; staff said grant awards are pending and the general fund is expected to absorb costs unless major mechanical work is required.
Chair Barrantes opened a community services commission meeting where staff outlined temporary facility closures and program impacts.
Matthew Morales Stevens, the community services assistant director, announced that the Community Recreation Center "is closed to the public until, tentatively January 11. ... It'll reopen, January 12." He said classes were relocated or postponed and that affected participants and instructors had been notified.
On the Smith Park Pool, Matthew Morales Stevens said the closure is driven by a failed pool heater: "the more pressing one is the pool heater... the part needs to be ordered and then the company will need to install it." He said public works is managing the repair and set a tentative reopening date of January 26 but cautioned the schedule depends on when the replacement part arrives.
Commissioners asked whether the shutdown provided opportunity to undertake additional upgrades and whether grants could defray costs. Matthew Morales Stevens said staff were aware of other items that ‘‘could potentially be addressed during this closure,’’ but that larger mechanical work would require public works’ assessment. On grants, he said the city was still awaiting decisions on "one or two" grant applications and had no firm award notices.
When pressed about cost, staff said they did not yet have a full estimate. "I don't have the full cost estimate at this time," Matthew said, adding that he did not "foresee that being something that we would need to handle" by cutting programs or raising fees and that the general fund should be able to absorb the repair unless a major reworking of the mechanical room is required.
Next steps: staff said they will follow up with public works for a definitive timeline and provide updated cost information when available. Andy Schoopler will return in March with further details about swim programming, including adaptive swim offerings.
