Engineers give approval to reopen Tecumseh Community Memorial Pool

TECUMSEH — Swimmers are once again able to use the Tecumseh Community Memorial Pool.

Following the recommendation of engineers, the Tecumseh Board of Education voted 7-0 Monday, Dec. 4, to reopen the pool as soon as possible. The board closed the pool in September after engineers found corrosion on the roof’s steel structure and recommended its closure.

The school district announced Monday after the meeting that the pool would reopen Tuesday, Dec. 5, for the boys swim team to use, then the pool would be open to the public on Wednesday, Dec. 6.

Repairs are still needed, the engineers said, but don't have to be done right away.

In October, engineering firm SME of Plymouth took a more thorough look at the condition of the roof structure to make a report to guide plans to make repairs. The engineers found the condition of the roof was not as bad as initially thought, the board was told during a special meeting Monday.

“It is still SME’s opinion that the joist seats should be reinforced to return them to their originally intended design strength,” a letter dated Nov. 17 from SME project engineer Nate Sexton to the school district said. “Normal operation of the natatorium may safely resume, if desired.”

At Monday’s meeting, board President Tony Rebottaro asked Sexton and Charles Ireland, senior consultant at SME, if they would be comfortable with letting their children or grandchildren use the pool in its current condition. Both said yes.

Sexton explained that they did ultrasonic testing of the roof’s steel and cleaned away some of the corrosion to take measurements of how much steel remains.

Board member Greg Lewis asked if there were any concerns about the roof’s ability to withstand heavy, wet snow. Sexton said he had no concerns about that.

He said their initial recommendation to close the pool was made out of a desire to not put anyone at risk.

Board Treasurer Tim Simpson said he appreciates that the pool can be reopened but he didn’t feel like the board got what it initially hired SME to do.

SME was hired to look at the roof’s weight-bearing capacity to determine if a dehumidifier could be installed there, Superintendent Rick Hilderley said in October.

“We kind of look silly here because now we’re saying we've got to open it. I don’t feel like we got what we paid for on that first billing,” Simpson said. “I’m hoping we can get some kind of refund on that because these parents have been through a lot. They’ve been driving to Dundee, Milan to get their kids to swim practice and so forth. Personally, I don’t think we should have to pay for that first bill. I’m hoping that you guys will step up and take care of that for us.”

Trustee Becky Brooks agreed and asked Hilderley to look into getting a refund from SME.

“Yes, mistakes happen, but this put a pretty big dent in the community,” she said.

The recommendation to close the pool was made with the safety of kids and the community in mind, Sexton and Ireland said.

“The safety of the kids and users is paramount to us as it is all of you sitting here,” Sexton said.

“When we saw initially the condition of the steel, superficially, it looked really, seriously bad,” Ireland said, continuing to describe what the corrosion looked like during the first inspection. “… We were being prudent in our recommendation initially to tell you that we think you have a serious problem, potentially, up there. We came back a second time to scrape off enough of that material and do those measurements just to be sure that our initial recommendation either should stand or we should modify our thinking on that.”

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Another benefit of the second inspection was to determine if another one of their recommendations for the repair project — installing shoring to support the roof — was in fact needed, Ireland said. Their recommendation now is that shoring is not needed.

“That kind of shoring project would have been a lot more significant. It would’ve cost you a lot more money and time,” Ireland said. “I apologize that we didn’t get it right the first time, but by going back the second time we were able to ascertain that that scope of project that would’ve involved a lot more effort, a lot more money for the community, was not needed. So it was well worth our extra time go back there and take that more in-depth look at the condition.”

To repair the roof, Ireland said, they have two projects in mind that could be done together or separately. Both projects could be put off for two or three years.

The project that could be done more quickly would reinforce the steel joist seats where the joists that run the length of the roof meet the girder along the north wall, Ireland said. That would take two or three weeks to complete.

The longer project would involve replacing roof decking and coating other steel parts with corrosion protection that have lost their factory-applied primer. Ireland said that could take three to four months.

Rebottaro said the district’s insurance company and attorneys had reviewed’ SME’s new recommendations and agreed that the pool can be reopened.

Hilderley said Eubanks and operations director Joshua Mattison have been preparing to reopen the pool. It was never drained because the water helps support the pool.

Sexton said SME will still do its report on what is needed to repair the roof structure.

— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh school board votes to follow engineers' report, reopen pool