The itinerary regarding the development of a new indoor aquatic center was discussed at the March 28 meeting of the Ames City Council.
The city is planning to build their Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center on property located at the corner of North Oak Avenue and Lincoln Way. The site is adjacent to contaminated soil plots and the city is working with the Illinois DNR on many aspects of the project, including the geothermal wells, stormwater management and soil contamination.
The city held a public hearing regarding the project cost, building design and project priorities, including a timeline to put the project out for bid before the year ends. Construction of the project is slated for spring of 2024, with the pools opening to the public in 2025.
The real conversation to be had was the building and project design, however, as the council wanted input on what to include from the final aquatic center design, and how they can make it all work within the budget.
The current conceptual plan has three different pools, a lap pool, recreational pool and a wellness pool, along with a slide, locker rooms for men, women, family rooms, offices, storage units and the lobby needed for operations. The city also put out for alternate bids for a walking track, something highly requested by residents for years now.
Parks and recreation director Keith Abraham explained that even with generous donations from community members, they were looking to be over budget.
“So, you can see the construction. We had said $20,500,000 for construction costs. The cost estimate right now, and that’s the reconciled cost between the two estimates that were done, is $23,658,000,” said Director of Parks and Recreation Keith Abraham. “So, you can see where about from a construction standpoint, about $3.2 million over that. (The) $3.2 million does not include the $2.4 million for the add alternate. If you add the add alternate in there, we’re about $5.6 million over what our construction budget is.”
The council acknowledged the importance of the walking track while keeping the project as sustainable as possible within their budget constraints. The city desires to provide a pool facility so that residents wouldn’t have to drive to Des Moines.
The city moved forward with simplifying the design for budget reasons, keeping the walking track as an alternate, but won’t submit the final design until the fall.
