Pool project gets $750K

SANDUSKY — Sandusky Schools' pool project recently received a significant monetary contribution. The Sandusky Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization led by director Barb Hanck that fundraises for Sandusky Schools, garnered $750,000 from the Sandusky YMCA Foundation to support the construction of the new Aquatic Center at Sandusky High School, officials told the Register this week. The education foundation is conducting an $11 million fundraising campaign to build the new facility. To date, the nonprofit has raised about $9 million for the project. With the YMCA Foundation's commitment to the project, one of the two pools in the Aquatic Center will be named in honor of the YMCA Foundation. "Our foundation has for decades supported comprehensive YMCA programs for youth and adults including various organized swimming activities," said Bill Springer, president of the Sandusky YMCA Foundation. "Our pledge to the Sandusky Education Foundation best enables us to continue that support through a community aquatic center for people of all ages. "It represents an opportunity to bring the community together in support of one state-of-the-art aquatic center, and we look forward to working with the various stakeholders to make this a successful endeavor that we can all be proud of." The Sandusky YMCA Foundation, Sandusky Education Foundation and Sandusky Schools will enter into a formal agreement whereby the school district agrees to offer use of the pool for community accessible programming. "The decision to offer community programs at the new Aquatic Center was an easy one," superintendent Eugene Sanders said. "Sandusky Schools opens its doors throughout the year to residents for use of its facilities, including gyms, stadium, Cultural Center, planetarium and meeting rooms. "The school district's commitment is given with the understanding that every effort will be made to accommodate community programming in coordination with the district's schedule of aquatic programs and events, including a new program to teach every third grader how to swim." Community programs to be offered, once the Aquatic Center is completed, include swimming lessons for all ages, water safety, aerobic exercise, kayaking and paddle boarding, lifesaving certification and lap swimming. "Ohio ranked fourth in the nation in childhood drowning. Keeping kids safe in the water by teaching them to swim is essential for our children living here on the shores of Lake Erie," said Jim Hart, Sandusky Education Foundation board chair. "We are grateful to the Sandusky YMCA Foundation for their very generous support and are now in the final phase of our capital campaign. We hope that everyone will join in our efforts to build an Aquatic Center for the benefit of our community for many years to come." To contribute to the Sandusky Aquatic Center project, please contact the Sandusky Education Foundation by calling at 419-370-3770 or email bhanck@sanduskyef.org. Contributions may be mailed to 135 E. Washington Row, Suite B, Sandusky, OH 44870 or donated at sanduskyef.org. Recent developments John Feick, Sandusky Schools' owners representative during the "Building Better Dreams" facilities project, was recently tapped by Sandusky board members to serve in the same role for the pool project. The owners representative communicates between district and construction officials. Eight recommendations approved by Sandusky board members earlier this spring include: • A new eight-lane competition pool • A Myrtha pool liner to be utilized in the teaching pool • Constructing 285 new seats for fans and spectators (added to the 203 existing seats in the existing pool) • A glass fixture be designed to allow fans and spectators to observe pool activities in both the teaching pool and competition pool • A continued commitment to community access to the Aquatic Center at Sandusky High School • Core recommendations will be conveyed to ThenDesign Architecture team members • Sandusky Schools officials will provide monthly updates from Feick at monthly board meetings • District administrators, along with Feick, will continue to monitor the project for value engineering, budget parameters and more Previous pool project action Within the past year, Sandusky Schools recently hired ThenDesign Architecture, an educational design firm based in Willoughby, near Cleveland, and Water Technology, Inc. of an aquatics design firm based in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. ThenDesign architects Ryan Schmit and Claire Bank along with Water Technology engineer Steve Crocker will lead the design process for the new facility, district officials said. Sandusky alumni started the pool project in 2017 because the current pool at Sandusky High School is more than 60 years old and disintegrating. Back then, the group of former swimmers hired Wallover Architects, from Pennsylvania, for the preliminary design and budget work. The Sandusky Education Foundation took up the project's financial components. Last year, officials said they were impressed with ThenDesign's work and eagerness to bring its team to the interview. "The firm we selected is spectacular," Hanck said during the April 2021 board meeting. Added owners representative John Feick: "When we went into the final interviews, we couldn't lose — we had three of the best firms from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean." Plans to build a pool facility for district and community use halted last year due to COVID-19 but restarted in recent months. The estimated cost for the project is now about $11 million, an increase from the original $7 million price tag given years ago. But together, Erie County nonprofit foundations like the Wightman-Wieber Foundation, Dorn Foundation, local businesses and individual donors have pledged financial support and now have given most of the project's needed funds. Sandusky Schools administrators said an increase in the cost of material is expected, but cost savings are also expected in new improvements to the design which was originally drafted a few years ago. The project snagged $2 million from Sandusky Schools meant for repairing the current pool. Sandusky Education Foundation is also setting up a fund for future maintenance and repairs. ThenDesign Architecture presented its final design and budget for the aquatic center to board members in late 2021. It's likely that, barring any delays, the Aquatic Center will open within the next few years, officials said. - Appreciate news from your community? Click here to subscribe to the Register.