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Woodland’s long unused Grace Hiddleson Swimming Pool will soon be even more than a hole in the ground that it is. Then it will be filled in and become part of nearby Southland Park by this fall.
That’s if all goes according to plan after the City Council authorized going out to bid on the estimated $275,000 project, which will demolish the pool and surrounding structures before backfilling the open pit. The council’s decision was unanimous, bringing to a close, years of studies and efforts on the part of both the city to save the aged facility.
The project was approved under the council’s consent calendar meaning there was no significant discussion. The city has budgeted $290,000 for the work, but engineers think demolition will be around $275,180. The work includes asbestos abatement and PG&E service disconnections
Hiddleson Pool, . . . was constructed in 1948 and was last operated in 2008. Gracie “Patches” Hiddleson was a registered nurse who led leading semiweekly Adaptive Aquatics classes at the swimming pool. She was also a longtime Red Cross swim instructor, who swam competitively in her senior years, continuing to compete although legally blind in Senior Games throughout the U.S. and the world. At the 2004 Nevada State Senior Games, she was honored with a special Super Senior Award from Nevada State Senator Harry Reid for setting a record in the 95-99 age group. In all, Hiddleson collected more than 60 gold medals in Senior Games.
Gracie Hiddleson organized the Hiddleson Aquatic Care Team to keep the pool open and in 2013, a group of citizens formed a committee with the goal of raising funds to reopen Hiddleson Pool, which included the main swimming pool and a children’s pool. This committee was intending to form a public-private partnership with the YMCA to operate the pool after the necessary funding was obtained to renovate the pool. The City collaborated with the citizen committee and funded a needs assessment study for the facility.
However, in October 2014, the Aquatic Design Group completed the needs assessment study for Hiddleson Pool and found it would be cost-prohibitive to renovate the existing pool facility. The study also included alternatives including renovating the building and constructing new pools. The study included cost estimates for all alternatives of between $3- and $4 million.
Under the plans prepared by RJM Design Group, the demolition includes removal of the two on-site pools, the pool building, other structures and outbuildings, the concrete deck, and concrete wall. The maintenance shop and bathroom building will remain.
The project schedule shows bidding this month, an award of the contract in July and completion of the work by this fall. City staff is recommending that the city donates several items to the city of Maxwell, which has expressed an interest in them. Those include three “Stark Sand Filters,” a 5-horsepower pump, a pool cover reel and two pool ladders.
The material has been sitting at the former pool site unused for nine years and most are either obsolete or not compatible with the Charles Brooks Swim Center on West Street. There are actually two pool cover reels remaining and one will be used as a spare at the Charles Brooks Center.
A plaque in memory of Hiddleson that graces the entryway to the pool was to be donated to surviving family members if it has not been already.
The only question about the demolition came from Councilman Tom Stallard who asked if a retaining wall lining the pool could be saved because it would serve as a wind break. City staff, however, said the wall was physically attached to the concrete pad surrounding the pool, meaning one couldn’t be removed without removing the other.
