Bell Rec Pool Area closed for 8 weeks. -Not fair to us that live here all year long !

Just recently we all received information from Sun City RCSC:

“The pool and outdoor spa areas at Bell Center have not had any major maintenance work since their construction in 2005. Therefore, beginning May 5, 2014 entire outdoor pool area at Bell will be closed for repairs and maintenance.
Planned improvements will include: resurfacing of the cool decking, pool and spa repairs, acid washing of both pools and spa, and other needed maintenance. We will do all we can to expedite this work. The estimated finish date is June 23, 2014.”

Upon looking over the pool deck, pool areas – I agree - - needs repair and re-doing … HOWEVER, it has only been 9 years since all was totally remodeled and re-done. Question – who did this poor job at Bell ? - - I had a pool in Peoria - -My pool, cool decking was 20 years old and not a chip in it - - In Peoria, I did have my pool acid washed in early early Spring - - if one waits to long – the summer heat will crack the surface.. BAD TIMING for this project in my opinion. AND Pools and decks should last longer than 9 years, even with the public using it.

I was shocked, as were all of my friends who use Bell in the summer, when informed that Bell pools outdoor lap, spa, and walking will be closed for 8 weeks due to maintenance - May 5th - June 23 - - Duh ! ! - What is going on ??? - - THIS IS PRIME-TIME BEST SEASON AND MONTHS FOR THE OUTDOOR POOLS ! Was this poor planning ?

- - - Closing it when "we who live here all year long" were waiting for the crowds to diminish so we could return to Bell -- When the seasonal folks appear, they invite friends, guests, & relatives. Bell is so overly crowded – one cannot even find a chair to sit on. I go to other Rec Centers in the winter only to avoid all that mess of people. Appears that Sun City caters to the seasonal residents more than they do to us that live here all year long. This is my home & I love My Sun City. I do not like to gripe or whine and I am normally a gracious, kind, blessed & positive person. I am sad for some of my elderly friends who are not able to drive the distance to other pools which might be as far from Bell as 10 miles. – Why did the Rec Centers not do this in Nov. Dec. Jan. when hardly anyone visits the outdoor pools? All of my friends who attend Bell in the summer were just so upset. We never heard of a Public Meeting on this action nor were any votes taken. The boards need a certain amount of members in order to vote - -and that never happens. ( Are "us who live here all year long" being punished - -?? It feels like that !)
- - I love my Sun City - - But closing this pool area for so many prime-time-weeks - - is not a good event for homeowners who look forward to summer-time fun at Bell Rec !

 

Hey Anita Mae, fair points for sure; especially given the Oakmont pool is down and will be at the same time as the Bell redo. And the reality is, the summer months are easily the busiest time of year for pools in Sun City. It's one of the oddity's, virtually every other activity has it's prime time when winter visitors are here, but the pools go crazy during the summer heat.

We actually talked about this yesterday at the work session following the member exchange. It's an issue because we are also struggling with the timing of the Marinette project. Seems no matter what we do, people are impacted by work we do. We were told the Bell pool was something we needed to get on immediately because of the cracks around the pool and apparently a serious abrasion of a section of the walking pool. I haven't looked yet, but obviously if there is a problem that poses a safety issue we have to deal with it.

Of course this is all exacerbated by the Oakmont pool being down. It almost never fails when we start working on these old buildings, we come across unexpected problems. We had hoped the Oakmont pool rebuild would go smoothly but it too has had its challenges. The good news is it will be back open for a good portion of the summer. For more details be sure to sign up for email blasts from the RCSC here.

The great news is, even when a pool (or two) is down, there are still 5 or 6 others spread across the community. So almost no matter where you live, there is another within a mile or three. And, hopefully the Bell pool gets fixed quickly and you all get back there with the bulk of the summer left to hang by the pool.

 

Thanks Bill for your words - - I understand it must be difficult to please everyone.. AND agree - - the chunks of "coating" - many of the areas with missing "concrete" at Bell, do create a concern and health hazard - - especially when some of these folks use walkers or canes to get around. We only wish it would have been done earlier - like in the months of Dec. Jan....