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Staff recommends replacing indoor pool stair-and-slide; council backs replacement and maintenance plan
Summary
City staff presented inspection findings showing corrosion on the natatorium stair-and-slide tower and recommended replacing the stair structure and, concurrently, the slide. Staff identified funding from existing project savings tied to a 2023 bond and said replacement would allow the city to order materials for an August pool closure; the council generally supported replacement and asked staff to return with contract award details.
City staff told the Burleson City Council on April 7 that significant corrosion on the indoor natatorium’s stair-and-slide structure requires action and recommended replacing the stair tower and the slide together.
Parks and Recreation Director Jen Basham summarized structural-engineering and manufacturer inspection findings showing concentrated corrosion where pool water cascades from the upper platform. Basham said the manufacturer (Splashtacular) quoted about $75,000 to refurbish the slide and that staff-level estimates put refurbishment (stairs plus slide) and replacement on different cost trajectories. Staff presented a replacement project cost estimate of approximately $416,000 when debt service is included and said annual debt service on replacement would be about $23,120. Basham told council that refurbishing the slide or stairs would not be classified as a capital item and therefore would require identifying additional cash funding; by contrast, replacement could be paid from project savings identified in the Bailey Lake and Chisholm Hall parking lot expansion bond issued Aug. 21, 2023.
Staff also recommended a one-year maintenance contract with the manufacturer to provide an annual on-site inspection and targeted maintenance (staff quoted an annual cost of about $12,155 for that maintenance service). The Park Board recommended replacing the stair tower; board members were split on whether to refurbish or replace the slide, but Splashtacular advised that if the city replaces the tower it should replace the slide concurrently to avoid re‑assembly difficulties.
Council members raised long-standing concerns about documentation and follow-through on maintenance. One council member cited increasingly poor inspection results from the Texas Municipal League risk-inspection program over recent years and urged a written maintenance plan; staff said they have drafted SOPs in alignment with the manufacturer and are onboarding the Brick (the civic facility) into a new work-order system (Cartograph) to better document daily and periodic inspections.
Based on staff recommendations and council feedback, staff said they would return with a contract award item for the replacement (if council directs replacement) on the April 21 agenda and that the slide will remain closed for the coming summer regardless of the chosen approach.
