Title
Discussion on the Status of the Emma Hood Swim Center at Alameda High School and Provide Direction as to Options for Swim Facilities in Alameda. (Recreation and Parks 280)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: David L. Rudat, Interim City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Emma Hood Swim Center, located at Alameda High School, is an aging facility that is in need of significant repair/replacement. The pools are operated and maintained by the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) under a Joint Use Agreement with the City. Recently, the Alameda County Environmental Health Department (ACEHD) cited significant code concerns at the pool that were "grandfathered" and allowed to not be addressed for many years. Now ACEHD is requiring closure of the Swim Center pools in May 2019 unless the issues are addressed and brought up to code. Both the AUSD Board of Education and the Alameda City Council are discussing this issue to determine next steps and options to continue to provide aquatic facilities for students and the community.
BACKGROUND
AUSD and the City of Alameda (City) have a Joint Use Agreement under which AUSD currently operates and maintains the swim centers at both Alameda and Encinal High Schools. The City manages the schedule for both swim facilities. The cost of operation, maintenance and improvements is equally shared between AUSD and the City.
The Emma Hood Swim Center is located on the Alameda High School campus and has a swim pool and a smaller, deeper, dive pool. Both pools and the locker room are decades old and in poor condition.
In 2010, the ACEHD raised public safety and code violation concerns. The City and AUSD staff met and addressed a number of the issues raised by ACEHD including installing new filters, heaters, chlorine system, and a chemical feed controller, which increased the flow rate much higher than it had been previously. In 2013, all of the mechanical equipment and leaking water pipes were ...
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