Morgan Gates
Published: August 23, 2005
PJC’s indoorÿswimming pool is still “unswimmable” because of interior damage caused by Hurricane Ivan last September.
Staff at the Lou Ross Center, where the pool is housed on the Pensacola campus, had hoped to reopen the pool at the beginning of the fall term, but Facilities, Planning and Construction Director Todd Harrington says the reopening must be postponed, perhaps until late October or November.
Physical Plant Director Walt Winter says that the college’s insurance company late last month authorized the pool’s interior for renovation.
Ivan caused no damage to the pool itself, but almost completely ripped off the roof. Winter says the roof was replaced after Ivan and was patched after Hurricane Dennis.
Still, structural repairs to the pool room’s interior need to be made before the pool is ready to swim in. Winter said these repairs include removal of debris, fresh paint, cleaning the pool and pool deck, replacing damaged gas heaters and exhaust fans, replacing corroded hardware, and adding new pool water. Once the renovation begins, it should be completed in 60 to 90 days.
Although he’s not sure, Winter assumes the pool will reopen as soon as the repairs are finished sometime in October or November.
Over the past year, all of the pool users-including swim teams, aquatic dynamic swimmers, orthopedic rehabbers, and PJC pool members-have had to make adjustments in their exercise routines.