Pool is still standing

Portland Pool closed for the final time Aug. 10, and demolition of the pool was expected to begin early in September.
With the month coming to a close, demolition has yet to begin.
Still, city officials say they’re confident the new Portland Water Park will remain on schedule to open next summer.
“We still feel like we can be on schedule for the deadline and have the pool open for next summer,” Mayor Randy Geesaman said Wednesday.
At a public forum last week, he told residents in a worst-case scenario, the pool would open by Fourth of July.
One of the first steps in building a new pool was completing geotechnical work and a topographic survey to test the soil at the pool’s location.
Geesaman said the city and HWC Engineering, the engineering firm hired to design the pool, spent extra time testing the soil, which is satisfactory for the project.
“Soil testing and the geotechnical work came back, and we’re comfortable with that report … so we can move forward,” he said. “We didn’t want to touch anything until we got those reports.”
A meeting with HWC Engineering was scheduled for this morning to move forward with planning.
A preliminary project schedule issued by HWC Engineering called for a design contract to be approved by July 8, but those details are still being worked through.
A press statement Portland Park Board issued Thursday said the engineers are now a month into the design process of the new facility and anticipate the updated layout to be released to the public in October.
Preliminary plans include a lazy river, beach entry, slides, a competition pool and features for children.
Construction for the project, which is estimated to cost $3.3 million, is expected to begin in early 2015, according to the park board statement.
Portland Water Park will replace Portland Pool, which was opened in 1960. The 54-year-old facility has been plagued by a variety of structural and maintenance problems, including leaking hundreds of thousands of gallons of water each year.
During the last year, park board and subcommittees have studied the pool and options for the future, deciding earlier this year to build a new facility that will include more features than the current pool.
A majority of the funding for the project — about 68.8 percent — is coming from the City of Portland, and a fundraising committee was formed earlier this summer to raise the remaining $1 million.
With a $250,000 donation from The Portland Foundation and $150,000 from the county, the fundraising committee is about halfway to its goal.
Donations from the Portland Redevelopment Commission and Jay County Hospital are in the process of being committed.
The fundraising committee is seeking donations from area residents and businesses and hope to have enough money pledged to complete the project by the end of 2014.