YMCA pool still closed; lawsuit, studies churn forward

April 06--The swimming pools at the YMCA of Pueblo remain empty and two of its locker rooms are closed.

It's been nearly six months since YMCA staff discovered that the water level in both of the facility's swimming pools had sunk a foot. Upon further inspection, workers found that there was severe damage to underground water pipes.

Augie Mendoza, president and CEO of the Y, told The Pueblo Chieftain last month that a team of soil engineers, structural engineers and contractors are studying to see if shifting soil could have caused the pipes to burst or if it could have been a defective part.

"They are the experts and they are trying to determine what the actual cause was. Nobody knows what the cause was," Mendoza said.

"Was it the chicken or the egg?"

Mendoza would not say which engineering firms were studying the soil, but said they were local and regional firms. He said the cost

of the repairs has not been determined and he wouldn't provide an estimate.

"We are still in the process of determining and considering estimates on various repair options," Mendoza said.

The Y also is in the middle of a lawsuit it filed Feb. 26 in Pueblo District Court against Secura Insurance Companies, of Appleton, Wis.

On Tuesday, Secura moved the case from state court in Pueblo to U.S. District Court in Denver.

Mendoza said he couldn't comment on the lawsuit.

"The pending litigation is still early in the process with the insurance carrier as to determine coverage. I would like to respect the process," Mendoza said.

Bad land?

Mendoza, who replaced longtime CEO Terry Lockwood on Aug. 1, said he has never had conversations about the land the Y was built on.

"To our knowledge, this has not been a specified area that's been a cause or concern at all," Mendoza said. "I've heard zero as far as this land being bad."

Officials at facilities in the area contacted by The Chieftain said they have had no major problems with shifting grounds or foundation problems.

Andreas Nilson, director at Intellitec College, said he has heard about the YMCA's problems.

"Fortunately we have not had any problems with our buildings here," Nilson said. "We have had no land shifting problems here, that I know of."

Pastor Dave Smith of the Family Worship Center said he has no major concerns, either.

"We've got some cracks in the parking lot, but I think that's pretty much a given. We've had no issues as far as the building itself," Smith said.

Smith said a soil analysis when the church was built in 2008 showed that the land was fine to build on.

Damages

The epicenter of the damage at the Y was next to the warm-water therapy pool, the men's locker room and the pool mechanical room.

The burst pipes caused water saturation to the ground, which caused settlement, which caused walls in the locker rooms to be compromised. It also caused floors to shift.

"There was cracking and it all had to be repaired," Mendoza said.

Lines that feed the pools and locker rooms also were damaged.

He said the repairs have been broken down into three phases.

In the first phase, engineers mitigated the settlement issues.

"Stabilization has been the biggest priority and that was the most timeconsuming phase of the repairs," Mendoza said.

Mendoza said the mitigation process included compaction grouting and other stabilization techniques.

"That's been completed and we have no other shifting or settlement issues," Mendoza said.

The second phase has been waterline repair and repairs to the locker rooms.

The third phase, which is still underway, is cosmetic repairs to the locker rooms.

Workers from Houston Construction were repairing the women's locker room near the family pool during a tour of the facility last month.

Mendoza said there are also long-term fixes being implemented in the wet hallway corridor and the pool mechanical room.

"There was no damage to the warm-water therapy pool nor to the family pool, which was amazing," Mendoza said.

Joint effort

Mendoza said nobody is pointing fingers for the blame. He said everyone is joining together to get it all fixed.

"This Y was built on partnerships and partnerships have helped us during our crisis. It's a symbol of what Pueblo is about and that's my observation being fairly new to the community," Mendoza said.

All other aspects of the YMCA's facility, services and programs are fully operating on normal schedules, Mendoza said.

The structural integrity of the YMCA has not been impacted.

The YMCA's water aerobics classes continue to be offered at Centennial High School.

YMCA members have access to Colorado State University-Pueblo's pool for lap swimming during scheduled hours.

Mendoza said the YMCA board has been committed to making sure the facility has a long-term fix to make sure that this doesn't happen again.

"We don't want to hand this off to the next generation of board members. That's why we are dotting our I's and crossing our T's to be very good stewards of this repair," Mendoza said.

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