| July
2003
Ran:
Rancho Bernardo News-Journal - Thursday,
July 24, 2003
RBHS
pool construction under way
By:
Pat Kumpan
Swimmers
at Rancho Bernardo HIgh School aren't doing laps in their
own $3 million outdoor pool yet, but grading has begun on
the new 35-meter pool that is expected to open in February.
Swim
coaches, teams and "everyone associated with swim and
polo" are thrilled that the long-awaited project has
started, said Principal Jeff King.
The new
aquatic facility will be located on the south side of the
school's gymnasium. In a cost-saving measure, students can
use nearby gym lockers, instead of lockers that were proposed
for the pool site.
Land
was set aside for the pool when the school opened in 1991,
but district officials thought a pool could be phased in at
a later date.
Despite
the fund-raising efforts of the RB High Aquatic Foundation,
which formed about 10 years ago, things went sour when $250,000
promised in the 2000 state budget never materialized.
Poway
Unified officials modified pool plans last year, cutting the
cost in half - from $6 million to $3 million - so the project
could go forward and the pool could be ready for fall 2004.
Plans
were modified to include only a 35-meter pool, which meets
CIF guidelines for swim competitions and meets the needs of
water polo events, said Doug Mann, Poway Unified's executive
director of facilities.
A shallow
end for physically challenged swimmers has also been worked
into the design by NTD architects, who have a long history
of planning new PUSD school projects.
High
bids from contractors in February forced Poway Unified to
renew its search for a more reasonable bid.
The search
may have caused delays, but allowed for added incidentals
and an inflationary factor for high material cost to keep
the project at $3 million, Mann said.
RB High's
35-meter pool will have 14 lanes, one more than Westview High's
pool.
"Our
pool is perfect," said Tom Beam, aquatic supervisor at
Westview. "Teams can play polo and there's enough room
for swim practice at the same time."
RB High's
divers currently use Westview's pool because Frog's in Carmel
Mountain Ranch, where the Bronco swimmers practice, does not
have diving boards
.
Back
|
