The Winnemucca City Council met for their regular meeting on April 23, at which they received the first cost estimates for the construction of a new aquatics center that will be located in the City’s recreation complex in east Winnemucca. All council members were present.
Estimates were prepared based on design work by KNIT Studios, of which the City has been working with over the past year to design a facility that meets the needs of the community.
According to the proposal from KNIT, the construction of the approved designs is $28,384,283 including a 10 percent design contingency and a 10 percent escalation contingency to account for inflation and other changes that may occur before construction.
“We have a starting point for requesting funding,” explained City Manager Alicia Heiser.
The aquatics center floor plan design will have two separate pools within the facility, one maintained at a cooler temperature for more competitive swimming (competitions) and another warmer pool with an area for leisure swim and family play with a beach entrance. More user-appropriate locker rooms, a sauna, multi-purpose spaces, and other features are also being included based on input gathered through multiple focus groups of community members.
The City has been able to use funding secured through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to cover general government function costs so that those funds are then freed up for capital improvement costs, like the design of the pool, but the funding for construction is likely to be sourced through grants or a potential recreation tax.
Currently, the City has not officially locked in any funding for construction, but officials have said that they do have potential prospects that are interested in offering funding.
“The initial thought and conversation with the Mayor was we might as well start with the request and see what we get and then we could cut back on the design depending on the funding available or brainstorm ideas for getting additional funding. But at this point, we really don’t know if we get the $28 million, we haven’t asked anybody,” explained Heiser.
Additionally, according to Heiser, the earliest that KNIT predicts that construction could start is August 2025 if all of the funding can be acquired.
Although the aquatics center comes at a high cost, it will be designed to last decades. Councilman Mike Owens pointed out that the existing pool, Bode Howard Memorial Swimming Pool, has lasted 40 years and Councilwoman Ashley Maden added that the community is not shrinking, but continues to grow and having a facility that suits the needs of a growing community is important.
“I agree this is a great place to start. I think we need to find out what our community needs. I do agree that we need to build something for the future,” said Councilman Owens.