PBC Finishing Pool Study

February 26, 2010 by Josh Morgan

The Public Building Commission expects to have its report on two different pool enclosures completed in the next few weeks, in time to meet the Town Council's imposed March 15 deadline.
PBC member John Purtill, who is in charge of the subcommittee tasked with comparing the two structures, said last week that the group was about one-third of the way through its report. The PBC is comparing two different pool building enclosure proposals, and will weigh the pros and cons with concrete data. The subcommittee broke into smaller subgroups to focus on particular areas, such as energy, and is working on compiling the data into one report for the Council to digest.
"The contractors were offering us two packages, and they were different enough that it made it difficult to know what we were getting and to make a comparison," Purtill said. "We decided to come up with outline specifications, to make sure it has what we want, so we can have a valid comparison."
A standard brick and mortar building with skylights and windows was proposed by KBE Engineering and BL Companies for $4 million. The second finalist is OpenAire, a polycarbonate glass enclosure with removable walls and retractable ceiling panels for $5 million.
Purtill said that both were different and the group was looking at 15-20 various items within each proposal to make a "completely independent" analysis of the two facilities. Two weeks ago, the PBC took to the road, visiting a KBE building in West Hartford and an OpenAire structure in Orange. Besides seeing both up close, Purtill said the PBC met with the facilities’ managers to learn more details about both types of buildings.
"We had informal interviews with the two finalists and that allowed us to refine our understanding of what they were proposing," Purtill said. "We are really planning to meet our deadline."
Director of Public Works Joseph Michelangelo said there was "still a lot of work to do," as the PBC continues to mull over the proposals in great detail. For instance, it was discovered that neither proposal called for the enclosure of a large concrete deck on the west side of the pool, opposite of the diving end, which the PBC determined had to be enclosed because of its high use. That change is forcing both companies to reprice their plans.
"They are going deeper and deeper," Michelangelo said. "We are not under contract with either of these companies and they are trying to get as much information out of them as possible."
The six main areas of focus for the PBC are construction specifications, contractor capability, completion schedule, energy consumption/mechanical systems, user needs fulfillment and life cycle costs. Energy, Purtill said, is "such an important part of this process" that a separate group is working solely on analyzing that data. He said breaking into small groups makes the seemingly "unwieldy" task less daunting.
"I'm confident we'll get good comparable data," he said. "I've been delighted with the amount of contribution we've had. The Town is getting a tremendous amount of free work out of these people."
When the Council asked the PBC for its input on the two structures, there was some haggling over the word “recommend,” which was ultimately removed from the resolution. Michelangelo said the PBC would not make a recommendation for either company, but will list what they believe to be advantages and disadvantages of each proposal.
"They are going to lay out the information," Michelangelo explained. "We are trying to look at our crystal ball, and weigh the pros and cons of both."
Purtill said the PBC would develop a PowerPoint presentation for the Council and the public, to view and easily understand the information and data it had compiled. The Council will have to select a proposal at some point and voters will ultimately have the final say, as any design would need to be approved at referendum to move forward. Purtill said the PBC would not be advocating for one structure or the other, as that is the Council's call.
"We're not making that decision, it's theirs to make," he commented, "but, we'll give them the data so they can make it."
The PBC will be meeting again on March 2 to continue discussing the future of the pool.