Adrian City Commission looking at phased approach to rehabbing, opening Bohn Pool in 2024

ADRIAN — There’s a January chill in the air right now, which means it’s the perfect time to plan for the 2024 summer swimming season at Adrian’s Bohn Pool.

That’s just what the Adrian City Commission did last week when it met for its first meeting of the new year Jan. 2. The commission met on a Tuesday as opposed to meeting on a Monday because of the New Year’s Day holiday falling on Monday.

During its premeeting work study session, nearly a half-hour was devoted to discussing the opening of the pool for 2024.

Last year was another summer of recent struggles in making sure Bohn Pool, a soon to be 52-year-old public facility, could last for the entire season. The pool, which generally employs teens and high school or college students who are on summer break, is open from June through the second or third week of August. During an optimal summer, the pool is open for at least 80 days.

Some of last year’s swimming season was cut short because the pool dealt with a trio of issues including a boiler failure that delayed the start of the swimming season, a faulty water filtration pump and problems with the chemical delivery system.

More: Adrian’s Bohn Pool set to open June 26 after delays, repairs

Parks and Recreation Director Jeremiah Davies, at last week’s premeeting, told the commission the city was notified it would be able to replace those pieces of equipment, which in turn, were immediately placed out to bid in accordance with the city’s competitive bid process.

“To ensure that we didn’t lose the (2024) season, the first thing we had to tackle was the pump and then the boiler,” Davies said.

On Dec. 28, bids were opened and there was a ton of interest from vendors across the area, Davies said, noting companies from Michigan and Ohio submitted bids for the rehab work.

Adrian Mechanical Services ended up being the lowest bidder.

Davies said he plans to bring a resolution before the commission at its Jan. 16 meeting — again delayed to a Tuesday because of Jan. 15 being Martin Luther King Jr. Day — asking for acceptance and approval of the bid from Adrian Mechanical Services “so they can get the new pump and boiler in and move forward,” he said.

What that “forward” looks like is still unclear.

In June last year, the city was presented with a number of options regarding future development at Bohn Pool. One of the striking things that came from that presentation, helmed by design and engineering firm Counsilman-Hunsaker & Associates, Davies said, was the high price tag on some of the additions and enhancements that could be made to the pool.

If the city felt so inclined, it could very well spend up to $13 million in construction costs on redoing the community pool or building a brand-new facility.

More: Adrian City Commission reviewing Bohn Pool feasibility study, audit

Public engagement through survey responses, however, found that most Adrian residents prefer Bohn Pool, 631 S. McKenzie St., in Riverside Park, right where it is. Respondents said they want their community pool to offer a clean and functional space that provides kids and families with recreational opportunities. Along with keeping pool costs low and affordable, the commission referred to these resident responses as the “community standard” of what’s needed from Bohn Pool.

The Collaborative, an architectural, design and planning firm with offices in Toledo and Ann Arbor, said it could assist the city in meeting those pool needs.

Representatives from The Collaborative spoke before the commission at last week’s meeting, highlighting the company’s local projects and affiliations as well as its qualifications, and what the proposed scope of work to Bohn Pool might look like.

The city, along with guidance from The Collaborative, agreed that a phased approach of rehabbing Bohn Pool would be the best route to take.

More: Adrian City Commissioners favor rehabbing Bohn Pool to building new million-dollar facility

The Collaborative has worked on a number of Lenawee County projects over the years, Ray Micham, architect/principal said. The company celebrated 50 years in 2023. It spreads most of its work between its Toledo office and its Ann Arbor office.

“We kind of feel like Lenawee County is within our immediate domain,” Micham said.

Nearly 80 projects have been completed by The Collaborative that are sports and recreation related. In addition to that number of projects, the firm also has designed 39 aquatics projects, 190 parks and municipal projects, and at least 33 projects between the city of Adrian and Lenawee County as a whole, including the Frank and Shirley Dick Family YMCA at the ProMedica Charles and Virginian Hickman Hospital campus in Adrian Township.

The Collaborative also has designed aquatics facilities for colleges and universities including Ohio Wesleyan, Ashland University, University of Toledo and Kent State to name a few, Micham said.

When using the phased approach to rehab Bohn Pool, The Collaborative said it aims to get the city to a realistically, achievable end goal while keeping a project timeframe in mind.

If the current structure is too far gone or the renovate/rebuild ratio is too far out of line, “we want to catch that and tell you that early and be realistic,” Micham said.

Phase one of the project would be the completion of a pool, building and site assessment. Phase two would be implementation of the repair work.

The assumption, Micham said, is to get the assessment done by the spring of 2024, which will allow the firm to start programming, design and budgeting as early as possible.

When the summer pool season comes around is when phase two is projected to kick in. This phase will usher in drawings of pool enhancements so that construction can begin during the offseason.

“We wanted to ensure that our community, our families and our kids have the opportunity to go to Bohn Pool multiple times,” Davies said.

Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news, and high school and college sports content.

An assessment will make things clearer for the city if it wants to add certain pool amenities like a zero-beach entry, additional diving boards or other “bells and whistles,” Adrian City Administrator Greg Elliott said.

“The (city) commission up to this point has been very firm in wanting to maintain Bohn Pool as a community asset,” Elliott said. “And we need to have a programmed approach to make sure we fix everything that’s wrong.”

— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at bheineman@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian City Commission looking at phased approach to opening Bohn Pool