Written by Taylor Collins, Staff Writer

As many of VSU’s students know, before the start of the semester the pool in the Student Recreation Center was closed for reconstruction and repairs. The pool was closed on August 5th for training, and on August 12th the Gordian Group, a Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia approved contractor, requested that the pool be drained in order to meet their scope of work.

The pool reconstruction project is a much more complex process that many realized, dealing not only with the pool itself, but also with the Dectron unit in the building. The Dectron unit is a vital part of making sure that the pool operates in a productive and comfortable manner by controlling the temperature of the water in the pool, as well as the humidity and the temperature of the water outside of the pool.

Mr. Shawn Phippen, the Director of Campus Recreation, believes that the Dectron system is what is going to take the most time in the renovations, due to the fact that it has to be constructed in Canada where the company is based out of. The original Dectron unit was placed in the building before the roof was completed, so in addition to the manufacturing of the system, the contractors will more than likely have to cut a hole somewhere in the building to efficiently get the system inside of the Recreation Center and create a better “overall experience for the students and members.”

The pool itself is undergoing major structural renovations to reduce safety risks for the university. The plaster lining on the pool that makes it water proof is being replaced, however, because redoing the plaster adds height to the bottom of the pool, the tiles inside the pool are being replaced. There are spots of rust on the walls where Gordian Group believes the rebar used to support the pool is coming through the concrete and plaster, so those will be chipped away and repaired. One of the side walls where the shallow end turns into the deep end is moving, and Gordian Group plans on diagnosing the problem and fixing it. The tile surrounding the pool, the epoxy resin on the floor that helps prevent slips, and both the overflow and drainage grates are being replaced.

Mr. Phippen believes that the renovations will be an improvement for the school and the students and that “For more or less, the pool itself will be completely new.” The final cost of the project as well as the date when the pool will reopen are still subject to change, however Mr. Phippen was able to give estimates for each.

Gordian Group is going to submit the scope of work to the Facilities Planning department and compare it to their Board of Regents approved book of pricing and the pricing is applied to the scope of work from that book. At the moment, he said a rough estimate is somewhere around $500,000, however, the figure is subject to change. Mr. Phippen also says that he keeps optimistic that the facility will reopen in November when the pool renovations are scheduled to be finished, but that realistically it will probably be closer to January 2017 when the facility actually opens up due to the Dectron system.