PORT TOWNSEND — Mountain Vew Commons is without heat and the municipal pool will be closed for about another three weeks after the boilers were damaged, the city manager said.
Roughly three weeks ago, a valve under the Mountain View Pool in Port Townsend broke and flooded the room, according to City Manager David Timmons. As a result, the boilers that heat the facility at 1919 Blaine St. and provide hot water for the pool were damaged.
“The flooding damaged the main operating panels,” Timmons said. “So there’s no hot water, except in the radio station and YMCA, since they have their own water heater units.”
The Port Townsend Food Bank, Working Image and Port Townsend police substation are all currently without heat but still functioning. Timmons said he hasn’t heard any complaints so far.
“We don’t have our heat on anyway, so it hasn’t affected us,” said Shirley Moss, coordinator of the food bank. “I feel really bad for the guys over at the pool, but we’re not having any issues.”
The Port Townsend City Council on Monday approved an emergency declaration waiving procurement requirements for the replacement part for the damaged boilers.
“It means we can get it done right away,” Timmons said.
New parts for the boilers were shipped Monday, Timmons said. The city also plans to improve the overflow and add alarm sensors to ensure that flood damage won’t be a recurring problem for the pool.
The entire project is expected to cost $40,000 to $50,000. That doesn’t include revenue lost from the pool closure.
The staff at the pool, the only public pool in Port Townsend, is making the best of the closure.
“We usually shut down in December for annual maintenance, but we’re just doing it now,” said Alex Wisniewski, the city’s parks and facilities manager.
Wisniewski said they’ve repainted the walls, ceiling and floors of the facility and will also clean the pool and locker rooms.
Because all the work will be done early, the pool will remain open through December, he said.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
Mountain View Pool in Port Townsend will be closed for another 3 weeks awaiting repairs to the pool’s boilers, which were damaged when a valve broke and flooded the boiler room under the pool. (Cydney McFarland/Peninsula Daily News)
