MASON CITY – A number of readers have questioned the supposedly cool – or even cold – water in the Mason City pool and want to know what is being done to correct the problem.
Seems to be that a heater or “boiler” is malfunctioning, and there are no funds to replace it just yet, but a city employee who runs the pool is looking for a solution.
According to Mason City Recreation Director Brian Pauly, the pool boiler has been “inconsistent” this season and he has been trying to resolve the issue so swimmers can enjoy warmer water. The water temps are currently in the upper 70’s and lower 80’s, he says, and typically are in the 80’s in the month of July with a working boiler.
“I tried a number of local companies to fix (the boiler)”, Mr. Pauly told NIT today. “I had a number of cancelations due to a lack of certified boiler workers in the area.”
Mr. Pauly said he finally was able to find a company to come in and look at the boiler, and “they fixed everything”, but discovered another problem: the gas flow regulator was not the proper size when they installed it in 2002.
They pool was getting too much gas flow, and this is having the boiler turn to safe mode and shutting off, Mr. Pauly says.
“We have been waiting now for Alliant Energy to bring a small crew to fix the gas valve and piping entering the Aquatic Center building,” as Mr. Pauly explained, and “Alliant Energy has postponed the work twice due to more serious jobs.”
Mr. Pauly is hoping the fix from Alliant “will take care of everything with our boiler”. He says if the problem persists, he “will be asking the Park and Recreation Board for a new boiler next budget cycle. I feel pretty confident my board would support this project.”
Wow, apparently somebody screwed up on the pool. Anyway, just get it fixed Right! And I agree, the bike sharrows are stupid and a waste of money!
A pool is upkeep. And I feel it’s more important to the community than bicycle markings on the street. The money spent on the sharrows could have been spent elsewhere in the community. Wouldn’t the pool be classified as blue zone? I will give praise to Mr. Pauly for the things that have been improved at the pool; new chairs, and items either fixed or replaced in the kids area. And LVS, just he a use you don’t have kids or grandkids that use the pool doesn’t mean it’s not important to the community.
Pools rarely make money, that’s just the way it is. But it’s a nice amenity for a community to use for recreation. That keeps people happy and in your town, rather than moving out.
@Anonymous-Don’t misunderstand, I agree that we need a pool like this but without all the problems. It was shoddy construction and we are paying the price now.
No solutions here. Just continued bitching and moaning.
could of had a few city employees paint bike markings and used some of the 100k to fix the pool, come on council lets use that thing on your shoulders instead of using it for a hat rack.
That damn pool has been a disaster ever since it was built.
@LVS, do you ever post anything positive. The mall, the pool, the painted lines, etc. You bitch about everything. Geez, you must be a joy to be around.
Positive is not a word in LVS’s vocabulary!
It is a good thing you know nothing about positive TROLL.
Why? Do you want to kiss me? What do you care what I think unless the truth really bothers someone like you who sees the world through rose colored glasses. This city is in the tank and it is not going to get any better until we get rid of the current administration.
The sky is always falling in LVS’s world.
money pit, never ending