CRESTON & DISTRICT COMMUNITY COMPLEX

FACILITY ENHANCEMENT PROJECT

JUNE 11, 2010

The new reception desk is the first sight to welcome you as you enter the front doors. To the right is the hockey arena and to the left is the curling club and the aquatic centre. The windows above reception are into the fitness studio.

With the window of opportunity, namely sunshine, briefly appearing, concrete is quickly placed and finished for the patio outside the pool.

It’s all about the training as Jim from Acapulco Pools runs the staff through 2 days of intense training on pool operations. Below, he demonstrates balancing flows between lap pool skimmers and main drains, explains the upkeep and operation of the water level probes in the hot tub and demonstrates the removal and cleaning on one of three main flow controls which monitor water circulation in each pool system.

Also demonstrated was maintenance and replacement of underwater lights in the lazy river as well as the use of the portable vacuum cleaner used for cleaning the pools. The vacuum draws water and debris into its cartridge system, filters and returns the cleansed H2O back to the pool.

Training also includes office staff as they acclimate to their new surroundings; developing techniques and procedures that will streamline the front desk experience for patrons. Above, Tia and Linda get training on the operation of the upgraded phone system, the brains of which are housed in the secure and filtered data room in the heart of the building.

No, we did not fill the pools with purple Kool-aid, tempting as that may be. The purple is part of a dye test that each pool goes through to see the flow from each inlet into the pools. Inlets are then adjusted for evenness throughout.

While the bulk of the pool disinfection is achieved with Ultraviolet Light, the Health Act requires a residual level of chlorine in every pool. The choice here was to go with the very safe method of Calcium Hypochlorite “pucks” which are stacked in this container and water bubbles in bottom layer - eroding the tablets and releasing chlorine into the system.

This small plant is representative of the turmoil and adverse conditions the community has endured during the construction process, gradually working it’s way through the muck, mire and debris to awaken to the nearly completed vision which was only a dream just a few years ago.

Cleaning is the order of the day as a crew focuses on getting the arena suitable for PCSS graduation on Friday. The last open section of the roof replacement is done over the arena and the roofers continue with replacement over the kitchen and Creston room. All the windows in the complex require TLC to remove all the construction dust and overspray.

Also capitalizing on the sunny weather are the roofers who have gallantly braved the onslaught by Mother Nature these past weeks. The hockey and curling arenas are essentially complete and they are currently stripping and replacing roof over the kitchen, lounge and Creston Room sections which, as shown in the photo, renders some areas into temporary disaster zones. Close attention is paid to installing the improved insulation layer and maintaining the building envelope.

Detailed features start to come to light as we near completion. Items like the patron lift which can place a person either into the lap pool or hot tub, large mirrors in the Fitness Studio and finally a Lifeguard chair for the pool area.