The Kingfisher City Commission accepted a bid of $58,653.25 to chip out the existing plaster and re-plaster the floor of the swimming pool of the Vernie Snow Aquatic Center.

The move was made Monday during the commission’s December regular meeting.

After much discussion, Mayor Geoff Covalt and commissioners Debbie Burpo, Dawn Taylor and Kaci Farrar all voted for the bid.

Commissioner Kyle Mecklenburg was absent from the meeting.

Brandon Friesen, director of the aquatic center, told the commissioners that the repairs were long overdue and also suggested that the two boilers which warm the waters for the pool also were in need of inspection, as they have not been replaced since the pool was constructed in 1997.

Liz Pierce of Poolside Concepts, the company that successfully submitted the bid to manage the work, reported that from the condition of the original plaster, there appeared to be some excessive iron in the water, which was probably leaked into the pool from the boilers.

She said when she arrived to inspect the pool that it was already empty of water, so she did not have a water sample to be analyzed.

But, she added, that appeared to her to be the probable root of some of the damage done to the plaster over the years.

Pierce said that issue needed to be addressed for the longevity of the re-plastering job.

She added that, typically, swimming pools should be re-plastered every 10 to 15 years and as the pool was currently drained, her company was ready to begin work during the Christmas break.

“We’ll have 25 to 30 workers here and get it done quickly, because a pool should not be without water for too long,” she said.

City manager Jim Thomas recommended that the board proceed as quickly as possible with the project for that reason.

Thomas commented that all department heads had “done a good job of living within their budgets” this year and therefore the repairs would not create a financial burden.

Thomas said he felt this was the correct time to address the plastering problem, with the goal to check into boiler issues soon.

The swimming pool took up most of the discussion during the meeting, with the commissioners and Thomas discussing future plans to market the aquatic center more successfully.

Thomas asked Anita James, city treasurer, how much the pool’s total expenses were annually and she said it was approximately $260,000.

Thomas said the community as a whole was overdue in having a discussion in regard to what direction to take with the aquatic center.

Thomas said he thought there were currently only 13 family memberships to to the pool and the facility was being underutilized by Kingfisher residents.

He commented that the facility was constructed for $2.5 million in 1997 and, from his estimation, another $2.5 million had been invested toward maintenance and repairs since that time.

In her treasurer’s re- port, James said the city was in a good financial situation for the year, with an overall gain of approximately $167,000 over last year’s totals.

In other business, the commission voted to accept the bid of Accuracy Underground, LLC to move the water line east on State Highway 33. The bid amount was for $197,469.00, which was the lowest bid of four responding companies.

The commission will hold another meeting at the Kingfisher Chamber of Commerce office on Thursday evening, Dec. 21.