Completion of the Morgan Hill Aquatics Center is slowly coming
to pass with two of the major set backs nearly fixed and final
touches are being put on ahead of a hot weekend.
Completion of the Morgan Hill Aquatics Center is slowly coming to pass with two of the major set backs nearly fixed and final touches are being put on ahead of a hot weekend.
The slide, a popular attraction at the center, had been shut down for three days by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration because it did not meet regulations.
The slide, reopened July 13, now only needs final certification.
Glenn Ritter, project manager for the city’s Aquatics Center, said OSHA had not originally told him the slide would fall under its jurisdiction.
“The day before the center opened,” Ritter said. “OSHA came to us and said they were a new bureaucracy that regulates amusement park rides. They took pictures and said they would make a determination if we would be regulated. Two or three weeks later, they shut us down.”
As a result, the center had to change the wording of signs, add a sign at the top of the slide, alter an emergency shut off switch on the slide and provide letters from the manufacture of the slide and a structural engineer.
Ritter said he has both letters and expects OSHA’s approval by next week.
The facility continues exceed attendance expectations.
“We are pleased with the community support and continued use,” said Recreation Manager Julie Spier. “We continue to exceed targets.”
Sunday, July 18 saw the second busiest day with 1,605 admissions. For the weekend, the center saw nearly 2,800 guests visit the center. The Aquatics Center has seen attendance average above 1,000 per day.
For the rest of the Aquatics Center, final touches are being put into place. The sun shade and cool-brellas are now in place. The poles for the sun shade will be put in this week, Ritter said. The fabric coverings will be installed the first week of August.
Additional parking has opened to alleviate congestion. The dirt patch next to the 50-meter pool side of the center, has been opened for parking. Ritter said overflow parking signs are now up.
Guests may also park on Barrett Avenue.
With a hot weekend, Spier said the center is gearing up for larger crowds with extra staff for Saturday and Sunday. The center is looking into expanding concessions to meet possible demand for more water.
“We have to be cognizant of the health code,” Spier said. “We are talking with out venders and looking into all possibilities. We may end up selling bottled products.”
Along with high attendance, the center Monday had the 50-meter Olympic pool surveyed for a third time.
The pool had been measured to be short by less than an inch. A subsequent survey put the pool to be a half an inch too long.
A third survey, conducted Monday by surveying company out of San Ramon, Bryant Surveys, found the pool was just right.
The cost of the third survey was $2,500. Ritter said there should not be any further surveying conducted.
Bryant Surveys mainly does surveying for high rise buildings, however they have done a few pool surveys, said office manager Melissa Sough.
Sough said their instruments are accurate up to one-eighth of an inch. The company has done surveying for California’s Indian Casinos and Enron.
The Aquatics Center will hold its first swim meet August 6-8.
