Pool will not open in Hartley

Like a mirage of a puddle in the desert, local children will have to continue staring at an empty pool in Hartley this summer.

The new aquatic center cannot pass a state electrical inspection due to errors made during the construction process. In light of recent developments, the city council on Monday rescinded a previously approved pay request to the pool's general contractor, Eriksen Construction, worth $308,441. According to discussion, there is no way the facility can open this summer and serious reconstruction is likely needed in order for it to pass state inspection.

Michael Fisher, design engineer with Water's Edge and the pool's project manager, said the issues were unprecedented during his 25-year stint in the business.

"I have never encountered anything like this," he said Monday. "This is a sad deal."

City Attorney Brandon Krikke said there is no litigation pending at the current time, as a plan to correct issues is still being determined.

"All the conversations that we've had between the state and contractor have been positive. Everyone is just trying to figure out what the next steps are," he explained. "The general contractor has a right to fix the problem if there is a problem. We're trying to get all the facts in the investigation. Once we have a proposal, we'll be able to respond to it."

The problem

Issues at the pool were uncovered late this spring. According to information presented by Fisher, Eriksen Construction and the pool's subcontracted electrician, Phillips Electric, of Spirit Lake, didn't follow inspection rules mandated by National Electric Code 680 (NEC 680).

As per code, all metal objects in the pool and surrounding areas must be connected by a copper wire in a process called "equipotential bonding." The method is used as a safety measure to reduce the risk of severe shock should stray voltage polarize one of the objects in the pool.

"It's similar to a bird sitting on a high-powered wire," Fisher explained. "If it's just sitting there, it's not getting shocked. But if it touches something that's grounded that has a different [voltage], it's going to get shocked."

The bonding wire must be inspected by a state or local electrical inspector before it gets buried under concrete to ensure the work was done properly. The inspections didn't take place at Hartley's pool during the construction process, a fact that wasn't known until after a vast majority of work was completed.

State regulations require new pools to follow guidelines set forth in NEC 680. Fisher said the facility's specs also stipulated that all electrical work follow NEC 680.

"That's pretty well known. I'd say universally. It's National Electric Code – most all electricians realize that," he said. "Certainly if they've done a pool before or if they follow the plans and specs. We've got it written in there quite a bit."

After attempting to reach several work-around solutions, the Iowa Department of Public Safety ultimately decided it could not approve the pool for public use based on the lack of inspections.

Fisher said inspectors were at the construction site in July of 2021 when initial electrical service was started, but according to records provided to him, they did not return until March of 2022 for an inspection at the bathhouse. By then, a large portion of the pool had been completed.

"There was a span of many months here where the inspections never occurred, and as far as we know, were never called on for the state to inspect," Fisher said. "We should have seen a whole lot of construction inspection for electrical [during this timeframe]."

Fisher also said state officials realized the problem with inspections in May and told the contractor to stop pouring concrete, but they continued.

"When the state tells you to do something, you better figure it out," he said.

Solutions few and far between

Both Fisher and state inspectors tried to verify that bonding work completed at the pool was done properly, but could not reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Fisher told the council that the subcontracting electrician said all materials and bonding work was done according to code with proper materials, but a list of those materials proved otherwise. Some bonding components were used incorrectly, consequently bringing their functional longevity into question.

"Maybe it's bonded today, maybe it'll be bonded for a few more days, maybe it will be bonded for 30 years," Fisher said. "God only knows, because there is some corrosive material in there and not all of these components are intended and designed for this application to be buried in concrete at a swimming pool."

State officials ultimately had nothing to base a decision on and had no other option than to fail the pool's inspection, Fisher explained.

"There's a question about what really was done since there were no electrical inspections done by the state [during the construction process]," he said. "The only thing that the state can go off of...is whatever the contractor provides information on, or the contractor's word. This really is a life-safety issue and it's going to be hard for the state to swallow."

Tear it all up?

Eriksen Construction began investigating a solution to the problem last week once state officials informed the city the pool would not pass inspection. According to discussion, the city expected a proposal by the end of this week or shortly thereafter.

All work at the pool has stopped. Fisher was not optimistic the facility could pass inspection without extreme reconstruction taking place.

"It's not like you can uncover something within the concrete and verify that it was properly bonded," he said. "There are not a whole lot of options here. Removal and replacement is the option that's obvious to get the city what was contractually obligated to them and to comply with the state electrical inspection."

Krikke reiterated that the contractor has a right to fix the problem. The attorney also noted that no additional taxpayer dollars have been spent on the issue at the present time.

"It's likely that [Eriksen] make good and get the city what they contracted for, but at this point it's just too soon to speculate who's at fault here," he said.

Oversight called into question

Hartley resident Tim Hilbert questioned how the problem went undetected for so long. He asked if Fisher or Water's Edge completed compliancy checks during the construction process, which he believed could have prevented the issue from becoming so large.

Fisher said there is no checklist shared between him and the general contractor. He explained it's the contractor's duty to follow spec instructions and construction blueprints, which are developed to comply with regulations like those spelled out in NEC 680.

"We like to know that it's done properly, but our role is more general performance," said Fisher. "To date, I've never had any issues with the electricians following the state code or the need to be reported to me that things are out of compliance. Our contracted role is more of general inspection of general compliance."

The city will remain in a holding period until a proposal is submitted. Local officials remained relatively tightlipped during Monday's meeting, instead opting to let Fisher explain the situation and extenuating circumstances.

"There's really not much we can say at this point because all the contractors are coming up with a plan to remedy the situation," said Mayor Rodney Ahrenstorff. "It's unfortunate."