Meeting about pool concerns scheduled

POULSBO — With renovation on the community pool fast approaching, the North Kitsap School District has scheduled a meeting to address the concerns of Poulsbo Junior High parents.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 7 in music room two.

The meeting will address concerns about several issues, including chlorine smells in the auditorium and music areas; mold identified in the pool area during planned demolition of pool walls and mold test results.

The presence of mold in the walls, while not a significant health hazard, has long concerned the district and is one of the reasons the pool is being renovated.

To address those topics, several officials will be available at the meeting to answer questions. They include Ed North, Tim Hardin and Gary Fraser from the local and state offices of the Department of Health. Nancy Beaudet, an industrial hygienist and Sanders Chan, a pediatrician, will also review mold conditions and answer questions.

The pool/auditorium re-design, done by the project’s architect, has been sent to the officials for their review.

The renovation, which will begin in February and is planned to be finished by the opening of school next year, was made possible by the voters’ passage of the $60-million school bond earlier this year.

The pool has long been plagued by problems, including mold growing within the walls and corrosion of metal parts.

The problems have been traced to the pool’s heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system, as well as failure of the building’s envelope (outer walls), which has allowed moisture to enter the walls and grow mold.

Those problems will be addressed Monday night, as they will during the renovation.

The renovation will include a demolishing and rebuilding of the building’s envelope; a replacement of the HVAC system; an upgrade of the pool’s electrical system; a renovation of the pool’s locker rooms; the addition of an elevator/stair tower at the entrance; and a replacement of the environmental control system.

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