HARTLEY—The anticipated summer of fun at the new Hartley Community Pool will not happen this year since the aquatic facility is not able to open due to issues related to electrical inspections.
The city learned from the state on June 16 that the pool had not been inspected for equipotential bonding, according to city clerk and administrator Erica Haack.
“The state is working with the general contractor and the electrical contractor to get more information and to make a determination on what would be required in order for them to approve a final inspection,” Haack said.
“They basically informed us that, at that point in time, they weren’t able to issue any type of final inspection without further information and further review.”
The general contractor for the project, Eriksen Construction Inc. of Blair, NE, is putting a plan together with the state to remedy the situation so the pool can pass muster on all electrical requirements.
However, Haack said the state did not tell the city how long that process would take and therefore did not know when the pool would finally be able to open.
“That’s really why we’re setting that expectation that there won’t be a pool this summer,” she said. “It could take a while.”
Eriksen Construction declined to comment about the situation.
The pool, located in Hartley’s Neebel Park on the south side of town, originally was slated to open sometime in June.
Hartley has been working with Lenexa, KS-based pool design firm Water’s Edge Aquatic Design on the new pool.
Michael Fisher, a project manager and civil engineer with Water’s Edge, explained what equipotential bonding is and why it is important for a pool.
“Basically, the idea is that anytime you’re in a pool — when you reach outside the pool and grab a handrail or a ladder or you’re just pushing yourself up on the deck — if there’s a difference in voltage between where your hand is and where your body is, or whatever, then you can see electrical shock,” Fisher said.
“But if all those metal components around the pool are connected together with a bonding wire, then the potential difference, the difference in voltage, is zero because it is already connected to the wire. They’re all connected together. The idea is you have zero difference in voltage in and around the pool basin, so that it eliminates the ability for somebody to be shocked in the event that there’s a stray voltage somewhere that made it to that area.”
He compared the concept to a bird sitting on a telephone line: The bird does not get shocked while sitting on the wire since it is not touching something on the ground with a different voltage.
Pools normally get equipotentially bonded while construction takes place. Fisher said certain types of connections are required for pools according to the National Electric Code.
“The state requires that to be inspected by a state or local electrical inspector, and basically, in Hartley that process didn’t happen as it should have,” Fisher said. “Because of that, and the state’s aware of it, they have not issued a permit to apply electricity to the facility.”
The Hartley City Council held a special meeting June 20 to discuss the status of the pool and to rescind a payment of $308,441.18 the city had approved for Eriksen Construction on June 13.
The council held another special session Wednesday, June 29, during which it was decided to continue to pay longtime pool manager Pam Mohni for the full season. The council will revisit the matter of paying lifeguards for the season at a future meeting.
“From our understanding, most of the lifeguards have been able to secure employment at area pools,” Haack said. “We’re happy to hear that, but we still want to consider the amount of time that the city asked them to wait before the pool would have opened.”