Curtis High Pool Won't Reopen By Next Month

University Place swimmers will have to wait until possibly November to use the revamped pool at .

 is about 85 percent to 90 percent complete, according to BLRB Architects.

But issues related to construction and the project’s contractor mean the community’s new aquatic center won’t be ready by September, as officials originally expected.

“The project will not be available for occupancy at the start of school in September 2011,” according to a report from the architect given to the University Place School Board last week. “Contractor’s most recent construction status schedule projects substantial completion and occupancy dates that may go into November 2011, approximately 135 calendar days behind current contract milestones.”

The delay also will likely force the district to exceed its project budget by about $150,000, or 2 percent, the report states.

University Place School officials say they will try to recoup at least some of the cost overrun from the contractor - Construction Enterprises Contractor, Inc. - via the courts.

“There still exist unresolved construction issues that have arisen regarding scope and schedule delays,” the report states. “These issues are related to the removal of the existing primer/paint and the fire suppression system installation, along with other construction changes that have occurred during construction.”

“These items continue to be discussed with the contractor with no resolution in sight,” the report goes onto say. “The district is working with its attorney to seek resolution.”

The unresolved issues, officials say, involve the contractor originally stating it could do the work for a certain dollar amount but, after it won the bid in June 2010, coming back and asking for more money.

University Place Superintendent Patti Banks said the problem is rooted in state law that requires school districts to hire contractors that offer the lowest bids for projects such as the pool’s construction.

Banks said that UP wanted to hire another contractor that submitted a construction bid that was only $75,000 more than what CEC offered and had a proven record with the district, including construction of . It couldn’t because of state law.

“It’s the bid law that put us in the position we’re now in,” she said.

Renovation of the high school’s pool is one of the final pieces of an $86 million construction bond that University Place voters passed in 2006. When complete, the pool will offer more lanes and an expanded deep end, which will allow more people and sports teams to use the pool at the same time.

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