Edmond's pool leaks thousands of gallons of water a day. Can the city afford to fix it?
EDMOND — City leaders have a lot to dive into later this year as they consider how to handle a seemingly ever-growing list of projects needed to keep the community's quality of life from sinking.
One pressing need, they recently learned, is fixing Edmond's popular Pelican Bay attraction — the only city-owned pool in town.
The pool leaks water. A lot of water.
But when potential costs to fix it — anywhere from an estimated $3.5 million to more than $12 million — get added to an already-lengthy list of high-priority issues, Edmond faces more than $120 million of needed work.
Unlike Oklahoma City and many of its neighbors, Edmond does not rely upon revenues provided through voter-approved general obligation bonds to pay for upgrades/improvements to city-owned parks, roads, streets, bridges or buildings/pools.
Council members already know Edmond has only limited funds available through revenues collected by two capital improvement sales taxes to address priority projects.
A budget adopted by Edmond council members this year predicts it will bring in about $51.9 million through sales taxes.
Only about $29 million of that is available for capital improvements, and $11 million of that already is obligated to pay toward debt Edmond incurred to build its new City Center complex.
Could voters be asked to consider other options?
Popular Pelican Bay nearing end of useful service, council members told
Pelican Bay, a city-owned pool operated by a third-party contractor, has existed in its current configuration for about 20 years.
More than 50,000 visits were made to the 17-acre aquatic wonderland by area residents during the summer of 2023.
It also hosted 89 birthday parties and two dozen full-facility rentals during this year's swim season, earning an income of $449,368.73, council members were told.
After expenses, the operation earned a net income of $145,735.41.
But the pool has been showing its age amid all that success.
More: Edmond water bills continue to increase as reported line breaks climb
Edmond installed new filters to keep the pool's water clean, new controllers for regulating the water's chemical composition, a new chlorination system and a new acid injection system before it opened in 2023.
Those were all priorities after a summer swim season in 2022 where the operator had to close the deep end of the pool daily during most of the season because the water, while not posing a health risk, simply was too murky to safely allow anyone into that area.
The city also installed an autofill system to regulate the pool's water level.
After all that, Pelican Bay leaked more than 20,000 gallons of water a day this year, officials said.
"There's a lot of good news about Pelican Bay to share, but there are also some challenges with the aging facility," said Brad Raney, Edmond's parks and recreation director.
What's causing Pelican Bay's problems?
Edmond already hired a company to study the pool's water loss issues.
The study did not pinpoint a specific cause. It hypothesizes it could be leaching out through the pool's shell, from its gutter system, from cracked substructure pipes and through a degraded pool deck.
Escaping water does not pose an environmental risk. But bedrock underneath the pool tends to trap water there. The pool's shell, when empty, can be damaged as that water contracts or expands over time, the study states.
"Finding the source of leaking is difficult," Raney said.
What are Edmond's options to address Pelican Bay's issues?
The consultant hired by Edmond to evaluate Pelican Bay's problems was not hired to provide detailed estimates on what it would cost the community to fix the pool. But rough estimates were provided.
Edmond could:
Replace Pelican Bay's concrete decks and gutters and re-plaster and paint the pool's shell at a cost of roughly $3.5 million.
Replace its concrete decks, gutters and the pool shell at a cost of roughly $5 million, leaving its existing slide towers, cabanas and the pool's mechanical systems in place.
Build an entirely new pool at another location at an estimated cost of about $12 million (depending upon associated land costs).
Raney told council members those options have been reviewed by Edmond's parks board, which recommends the second option be pursued.
If that plan were adopted by council members, the current pool would operate normally in 2024 and then be replaced after it closed for the season. Edmond currently is seeking a consultant to help it develop plans.
"It (the water loss) is going to get worse if something isn't done to correct it," said Marina Wells, Pelican Bay's manager for operator Sports Facilities Cos.
Council members made no decisions when they received a report on the pool's issues in a workshop held in late September.
But several said they would like to keep it where it is.
"If we buy other land and move it, that would be another case of taking a key asset and moving it out of the core of the city," said Councilwoman Christin Mugg. "I favor the replacement option."
"To me, it is a beautiful asset. In my mind, we just need to figure out what is the best option," Mayor Darrell Davis said. Councilman Tom Robins agreed, saying, "we just need to hunt for those dollars."
During the same workshop, council members also received a report from another consultant who recommends Edmond build an elevated pedestrian walkway on Main Street across railroad tracks that separate downtown Edmond from new apartments and homes being built nearby.
Providing continuous access to both sides of the track would reduce potential hazards posed by trains that often are stopped on the tracks for significant lengths of time, they were told.
Costs for such a structure could run between $4 million and $5 million, council members were told.
"We know there are challenges now, and there will continue to be challenges with the number of living units being added on one side of the tracks and all of the amenities that are being added to the other side of the tracks," said Andy Conyers, Edmond's assistant city manager of administration.
Edmond council to prioritize future needs later this year
Mayor Davis and other members of the Edmond City Council said various ideas will be discussed when they gather in November for an annual goals-setting discussion.
Davis described the process of balancing needs against available resources like playing a game of chess, where each decision must be evaluated in the context of how it impacts everything else happening across town.
Discussions will cover ways Edmond can boost tourism to support its businesses and support both the community's public schools and its university — pillars that makes the community a great place to work and live, the mayor said.
"It's just like every community," Davis said. "Our infrastructure needs are just part of a broader discussion about what we want to accomplish in our community."
How to pay for those needs will be evaluated, he also said.
More: New Edmond ambulance service plans December start out of old fire station on Broadway
"We need to look at alternative funding. I don't know what that is, but we need to have the conversation," the mayor said.
People who shop in Edmond currently pay an 8.25% sales tax on most of the items they buy.
Of that, 4.5% goes to Oklahoma, 2% goes into Edmond's general fund used to provide basic city services, .25% goes toward providing fire services while another .25% is collected and then equally split to support police and parks services.
Of what remains, a permanent capital improvements plan sales tax approved by voters in 2000 receives .75%, while a temporary capital improvements plan sales tax approved by voters in 2017 receives .5%. The temporary tax expires in 2027.
Councilman Robins said he, too, wants to explore other funding alternatives, provided those are presented to voters in a transparent way.
"My goal is to give Edmond voters the chance to vote up or down funding options that would enable the city to provide its residents and employers with the best transportation, education, recreational, public safety and public services we can. I want Edmond to be the best place it can be to raise a family and call home," Robins said.
"I think it is time to have the conversation and then let Edmond voters decide what it is that they want," Robins said.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Pelican Bay in Edmond is leaking. City's funds to fix it are limited
