FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio -- There’s good news at the Gemini Center: Construction to fix the leaking natatorium roof is nearly complete, meaning the Lorain Road venue’s competition and leisure pools will be reopening.
“We’re very pleased to reopen our Gemini competition pool and splash park this week,” Mayor Eileen Ann Patton said. “The leisure pool area will be open on July 8.
“The roof repair has been completed and our residents can now enjoy our beautiful aquatic center. We would like to thank the city of Westlake and Rocky River for allowing our residents to swim at their indoor pools during this construction," she said.
Originally estimated at $1.65 million, the project ended up costing the city $1.2 million to fix the 10-year-old roof. Due to the unexpected leaking issue, the city through arbitration received a $295,000 contribution from respondents Building Technicians Corp., Imperial Heating & Cooling Inc. and Jeffrey A. Grusenmeyer and Associates Inc. toward the cost.
The extensive repair required the replacement of the rubber flat roof over the swimming pool area, as well as a portion of the slope to metal roof over the fitness floor. The two roofs are tied together.
“The issue was that we didn’t have a proper vapor area on the roof,” Fairview Park Director of Public Service and Development Shawn Leininger said. “That was allowing moisture to get up into the perimeter of the roof because the vapor barrier didn’t wrap up and over the parapet wall.
“So when it was cold out or you had colder temperature, warm and humid air was getting up into that parapet wall, condensating and falling back down onto our roof and into our building.”
Prior to the roof repair, the city spent roughly $35,000 to fix a PoolPak’s fan assembly. However, during roof construction it was discovered that the units had additional issues, which caused a delay, but were fixed.
“We were hoping to have the pools opened and operational at the end of May,” Leininger said. “We then had the additional work we had to do with the PoolPaks. We identified some additional repairs that needed to be made to those from the installation.
“We also took advantage of the pool’s down time. We usually do a shut-down in August, where for a couple of weeks we clean the building and perform repairs. We went ahead and did a lot of those items now. Overall, we should have even a better Gemini Center for our community and our residents.”
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