Aquatic center expansion paddling closer
Concepts to be discussed at Tuesday meeting
MOSES LAKE — Next spring may be the first chance to ride the wave in Moses Lake.
That's when both a river and board riding attraction are expected to make waves at the Moses Lake Family Aquatic Center, part of a $2.5 million expansion of the 12-year-old facility. City Parks and Recreation Director Spencer Grigg hopes the addition of a lazy river and FlowRider wave attraction will create a new draw to the aquatic center while also freshening up the current facility.
"I think it will be a hit," Grigg said of the expansion, which is on schedule to be constructed over the next year.
The FlowRider is characterized as a near-surfing experience in which riders are able to knee or boogie board on the single wave channel.
Discussions of an aquatic center expansion have been in the works for about two years. Funding for part of the project was approved along with the downtown reconstruction project bonds this spring. Bonding for the part of the approximate $2.5 million expansion was approved by the council last month.
The city council will have the opportunity to choose between a few conceptual designs of the project as a part of their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night. The designs will be presented by consultant Tim Gremmer of Wisconsin-based Water Technology Inc., who also worked as one of the engineers of the current aquatic center.
Designs of the FlowRider have changed a little since initially discussed, with an event deck no longer in the plans. Those designs have been replaced with others to add a longer and more meandering lazy river and FlowRider with the possibility for two chutes instead of one.
A group of city council and staff went to see a FlowRider in action last summer at the Mitchell Pool in Great Falls, Mont. From that experience Grigg has envisioned the FlowRider to become a kind of spectator sport around the center, appealing not just to the kids but adults as well.
"I still say it will appeal to kids of every age," Grigg said.
Grigg cited the fact the expansion would bring more tourists and tourist dollars to the area, but he said the citizens able to use the FlowRider on a regular basis would be the real beneficiaries of the project. The city did a zip code survey last August to determine what level of tourist draw the aquatic center has. In that one month, Grigg said, the city found that 80 percent of aquatic center entries were from outside the Moses Lake zip code.
The Moses Lake addition could prove to be a draw regionally, Grigg said, pointing to the fact there is no current FlowRider anywhere else in the Northwest. About 60 of the attractions have been installed around the world. And FlowRider states those attractions always bring more people to the pool.
"Every facility that has added a FlowRider has seen a 25 percent increase in use," Grigg said, pointing to even higher increases at some other FlowRider installations.
The last sharp spike in attendance in Moses Lake came when the city initially built the aquatic center to replace the former Swedberg pool. The aquatic center sees approximately 142,000 visitors annually, compared to about 18,000 per year garnered by the Swedberg pool.
The expansion itself is planned in the area which once housed the Swedberg pool, which will be cleared to install the expansion.
After choosing a design, the city is expected to award a contract for the project later this year. Construction could also begin this year, with an opening planned for May 2007.
"Memorial weekend of 2007, we should be FlowRiding with the best of them," Grigg said.