Despite the challenges we’ve had as the liner project was concluding, we do have progress to report!

First, the locker rooms are back open for business.

As we do have all new fixtures and facilities, do not hesitate to contact the office for any questions. For non-members, if you want to tour the new facility, we will be happy to set up an appointment to walk through with you! For renewals or new members, see an attendant in the pool area during attendant hours or stop by the office. Send us an e-mail with any requests or questions, or give us a call at 773-769-3250.

Above, the locker room facilities are back open and fully functional. Instructions for using the lockers are just inside the door. Instructions for the dry sauna are on the wall to the left by the timer. Below, the new showers – I significant improvement over the old.

Second, as we were on the cusp of reopening the pool, we ran into two problems preventing use of the facility:

1. We were getting competing chemical readings from routine tests of the water, which alone was cause enough to keep the facility closed. This has since been resolved, though once we get ready to open for good, we will have to make sure the levels are safe and appropriate. Our team will continue monitoring the levels multiple times daily so once we are ready it can be safely opened for use.

2. Once the pool was filled last week, a couple areas of bubbling appeared that were abnormal. This was followed by a very slow drip and leak below the pool. To isolate this, we slowly began emptying the pool, so we could attempt to identify where the water was coming from.

It will be normal with the new liner for some small bubbles or wrinkles to appear from time to time. The liner is not glued down to the surface of the structure. It is meant to be pliable and flexible, so we expect this from time to time as it is being used and as the pool itself expands and contracts. However, large or growing blisters can be a sign of problems with the liner or structure. We did identify a problem that pointed to leaking earlier this week.

We are hopeful we have identified the source and have actually started to put water back in. Over the next few days we hope to isolate the leak and confirm what requires repair. We do not believe it is a major problem. The biggest challenge is just confirming the problem with certainty and having the repair scheduled.

Final payment from the contractor who did the job is being withheld until we get the pool open and operational for at least 30 days without any problems.

We thank members for their patience and understanding while we work to get the facility back up and running.