Moses Lake board mulls pool expansion

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake School Board members will decide whether or not to add about 650 square feet to the new pool building, which would add about $400,000 to the cost.

Board members initially decided in February to remove the existing fabric pool cover and replace it with a cinderblock building. Total cost of the project would be about $2.5 million, with the district eligible for about $1.6 million in state construction funds. The district's share would be about $954,000, which would come from the capital projects fund. The district has about $4.4 million there, the result of construction projects that ended up costing less than anticipated.

Mark Johnson, director of finance and operations, said at the last board meeting that preliminary meetings have been held with the district's architect, pool users and the maintenance staff. At those meetings it was suggested to expand the building up to the wall of the high school gym, Johnson said.

The extra space would allow the addition of bleachers and a locker room, Johnson said, either now or later. Just the expansion, without the bleachers and locker rooms, was estimated at $400,000, and Johnson said he thought that would fit within the project's budget.

In other business, Johnson reported construction on the new transportation center is nearing completion. District officials should start doing final inspections and asking for corrections (a process called a punch list) by July 11, he said.

The steel framing is complete and crews have started pouring concrete at the Columbia Basin Skills Center, Johnson said.

Dave Balcom, the director of secondary operations, reported that 182 students are in some form of secondary summer school. In addition, the secondary English language learners program has 38 students, 19 in middle school and 19 in high school, he said. District superintendent Michelle Price said about 117 students will start a summer school program this week at Midway, Larson Heights and North elementary schools.