Carbondale trustees say new aquatic center is on track for late-May opening

Town of Carbondale staff reported that construction on the town’s new aquatic center is largely complete and remains on schedule for a late-May opening. Tammy, a town staff member overseeing the project, told the Board of Trustees that plastering for the leisure pool, recreation pool and spa is finished, water has been filled and mechanical systems are circulating for curing and chemical balancing. The lap pool plaster was completed the previous week and its mechanical systems are also operating.

The work inside the bath house is limited to minor finishing details, staff said, while exterior landscaping and final installations are scheduled to start the following week. Solar-panel wiring and required inspections remain, and the startup process for the facility heat pumps (to heat pool water) was due to begin imminently. Tammy said staff expected to obtain a certificate of occupancy in early May and to open the facility for the season at the end of May, pending inspections.

On the budget, staff reported the project budget remains at $13,419,571 and that a combined, not-yet-executed change order (referred to as change order 8) would include several previously noted items. If executed as shown in staff materials, the bundled change order would reduce the owner’s contingency to the low‑hundreds-of‑thousands range; staff also identified a handful of small, proposed change orders that together were estimated at roughly $7,000 if issued. The construction contingency figure provided in the meeting materials was approximately $12,675. Staff emphasized that several of these amounts remain proposals and will change if or when work orders are executed.

Trustees raised potential sound impacts from rooftop mechanical equipment. Tammy said staff have obtained quotations for sound measurements and mitigation and recommended waiting until systems are fired up to assess audibility before committing to any mitigation work. "We’re well staged to be able to address that and put some mitigation in place if you want to," Tammy said.

Town staff outlined public events tied to the opening: a staff test day on May 16 (2–6 p.m.), a donor reception organized with the capital-campaign committee on May 21 (5–8 p.m.) for contributors to the donor wall, and a planned public opening on May 23 with a donor window from 10 a.m. to noon and general public access from noon to 6 p.m. Eric, a town staff member coordinating events, invited trustees to participate and said invitations would be sent to donors and trustees.

What’s next: staff will proceed with inspections and system start-up, monitor sound levels once equipment is running, finalize any necessary change orders, and prepare for the May test day and subsequent opening events. The trustees did not take further formal action on the construction item at the meeting.