The hot tub at Thorbeckes Aquatic Center, seen Thursday afternoon in Centralia, is blocked off awaiting repairs.
The hot tub at Thorbeckes Aquatic Center is seen in a reflection next to a vent removed from the flooring next to the tub as it awaits repairs Thursday afternoon in Centralia.
The hot tub at Thorbeckes Aquatic Center is blocked off awaiting repairs.
A sign hangs on the barricades surrounding the hot tub at Thorbeckes Aquatic Center as it awaits repairs.
The spa located inside the Thorbeckes Athletic Club in Centralia has been out of commission since last summer, but the Centralia School District is now working to put in an entirely new spa.
“The current spa has needed some updates for quite awhile,” said Eric Wilson, Centralia School District director of maintenance. “When the pool liner was updated a couple years ago, the state came in and looked at our spa and had questions about how safe the current configuration was.”
The district owns the pool and spa, located inside the Thorbeckes Athletic Club in Centralia. Thorbeckes manages the pool and spa and leases it from the district. When things break, however, it’s up to the Centralia School District to repair them.
Wilson said the district hired a firm to see if the hot tub met current safety standards, and learned that it didn’t.
“Now we are looking at our options going forward,” Wilson said. “We had a company come out and do a report as far as what’s needed. … They suggested that the repairs are so extensive that it would be in our best interest to look at a whole new spa — new equipment, new spa shell and everything in that area.”
Wilson said the Centralia School Board asked at its last meeting for Wilson to bring a spa update to the board’s study session on Wednesday, Jan. 9.
“Superintendent Davalos and I had a meeting a month or two ago over at Thorbeckes with citizens and Thorbeckes members wanting an update on how we are going to proceed with the spa, with it being out of commission for a number of months at that time,” Wilson said. “We took their input and then along with the board’s input we decided a new spa would be in (our) best interest.”
Wilson did not have a timeline for when the spa will be back up and running again. He said after the district selects a contractor, it will largely depend on that contractor’s schedule.
“Ideally they could get in right away,” Wilson said. “But then also, like I mentioned, we would want to be able to keep Thorbeckes open at the same time. So that would make our timeline a lot longer if the contractor would have to work around Thorbeckes’ normal operating hours.”
Wilson also noted there are several contractors interested in the project, but it hasn’t gone out publicly to bid yet. When the project goes out to bid, Wilson said, the district will have a better idea of how much the project will cost.
Wilson said the district hired an architectural firm last month to design plans for a new spa. Those will most likely be ready next week, Wilson said.
