Ground was broken Thursday morning for the Morgan Hill Aquatic
Center amidst dignitaries and swimmers.
Ground was broken Thursday morning for the Morgan Hill Aquatic Center amidst dignitaries and swimmers.
“We have always been working toward this,” said Diane Suchomel, mother of a child who swims for the Mako swim club. “I can’t believe this is finally a reality.”
While Thursday was the official ground breaking, construction had begun Aug. 2. The project is on the fast track for completion by May 31, 2004. The budget is $13.9 million, higher than the $8.1 million that was originally estimated
The new aquatic center will be located on Condit Road next to the existing Soccer Complex that will become a youth sports complex.
The aquatic center will include competition, slide, recreation and instructional pools with a play/spray ground. The area will be equipped with event rooms, picnic areas, a concession stand and locker rooms with showers.
The skies were gray but the mood was far from it as Mayor Dennis Kennedy led the ceremony attended by more than 25 people by introducing the city council members and people who made the center possible.
“This project was long in coming,” said Kennedy. “It all started with a vision.”
During the ceremony, Kennedy honored the Lomanto family, which sold the land to the city, by presenting Virginia Lomanto with an arrangement of flowers. A check was also presented by Rob Eves, president of Venture Corp, to commemorate the $750,000 grant he presented to help fund the aquatic center.
Venture is developer of the Morgan Hill Ranch industrial park south of Corchrane Road between Monterey Road and U.S. 101.
Mako Swim Club members were out in force to support the new center. The members, including Mary Dunn, mother of three children involved with Mako, believe that having the pool will be beneficial to the entire community.
“This will give more kids the opportunity to swim,” said Dunn. “For so long (the pools) have been crowded; this has been so long in coming.”
Dunn’s son, Tom, was excited that Mako could have an open place for swimming.
“It’s nice to have a pool that we won’t have to contend with the school district,” said Tom, a sophomore at the University of the Pacific and former Mako member. “We don’t have to worry about water polo or the school’s swim team.”
Councilwoman Hedy Chang said the new center will be a positive addition to Morgan Hill.
“We have the soccer field and the aquatic center next to each other, this could be the new center for recreation,” said Chang.
During Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Tate questioned the value engineering change orders for the center.
According to the staff report, the list presented during the meeting is not the final list of construction cost savings, and the amounts are estimates.
“How do you do without trash receptacles, benches and pool covers?” Tate asked, referring to items listed for elimination on the list.
Glenn Ritter, contract project manager for the city Public Works Department who prepared the report, said the item should have read “postpone purchase” instead of eliminate.
“We are not paying the contractor mark-up, we are purchasing those items ourselves,” he said.
Kennedy, who sits on the aquatic center subcommittee, told the council that the value engineering list – those items identified by the contractors and the city’s construction manager as cost savings – is being prioritized.
“There is a priority list for re-inclusion,” he said. “There were things in the plan that are nice to have, things that are very nice to have … but we had a target budget to meet and difficult decisions to make … Many of these things are things that are easy to add back in.”
The council was not required to take action on the list; it was included as an information item to report on the value engineering process.
Cool Brews will be held at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center outdoor amphitheater, 17000 Monterey Road on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The event will feature tasting from more than 20 breweries but will also be a fun-filled event for kids and adults alike, with live music, kids’ amusements, gourmet food and wineries. Admission is free; brew tasting $15. Organizers hope to bring in $50,000 from the event.
Staff Writer Marilyn Dubil contributed to this story.
