Council committee to vote Tuesday on $1.1 million bid to update city pool at War Veterans Park

By RICK MILLER

Olean Star

The proposal to hire a company to update the City of Olean swimming pool at War Veterans Park will come before the Common Council’s Youth and Recreation Committee Tuesday night.

The issue has been simmering for the past three weeks since Ward 7 Alderman David Anastasia proposed accepting the $1,093,000 bid from Patterson-Stevens Inc., Tonawanda.

Council President Vernon Robinson Jr., I-Ward 6, referred the proposed bid acceptance to the Youth and Recreation Committee headed by Jennifer Forney, R-Ward 3.

Anastasia told the Olean Star on Monday that he thought the entire council was on board with updating the pool and that the Youth and Recreation Committee members would approve the bid Tuesday night and send it to the full council for its next meeting July 21.

Last year, the city received an $800,000 grant from New York State designed to aid municipalities with updating their swimming pools.

While the low bid was slightly higher than the grant, the city may decide to borrow the remainder. The cost to demolish the pool has been estimated at up to $500,000.

Anastasia said that if Patterson-Stevens is awarded the bid to update the pool and its original sand filter, it will probably also be asked to check for any weakness in the pool walls and propose a change order to add that work to the bid. 

“The first step is to get it out of committee, “ Anastasia said. “We need four votes to get it out of committee if we are going to vote on it on July 21.” The pool walls would be studied after the bid is awarded.

The pool was last used in 2023. It’s unclear how long the project to update the pool would take.

The Olean Star could not reach Mayor Amy B. Sherburne for comment.

Meanwhile, there is no word when the city’s new splash pad adjacent to the city pool will open. PV Paving, Smethport, Pa., the contractor, was waiting on a part before it could open.

The city paid about $800,000 for the splash pad equipment and had a contract with PV Paving for $459,540. Delays in obtaining permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers played a part in the amount of time the project has taken. 

Anastasia said he heard the part has been received and should be installed soon. There was no immediate word on when it will open. The council voted last month to charge kids $5 per session for admission.