A $7.6 million major rehabilitation of the Richmond Swim Center is under contract with Arntz Builders and is underway.

The scope of work was derived from a series of public outreach meetings that began in 2010 and concluded with a presentation to the Richmond City Council in March of 2013.
Mayor and Members of the City Council.

The work is being paid for by the WCCUSD.

Richmond Swim Center:  Summary of Community Outreach Regarding Design and Transition of Programs from the Richmond Swim Center
Please see the attached presentations regarding the design for the renovation of the Richmond Swim Center:

• Original presentation to Parks & Recreation Commission - April 6, 2010 (Programming and Schematic Design)
• Follow-up presentation to Parks & Recreation Commission - May 05, 2010 (Commission Question 1 thru Question 9)
• Follow-up presentation to Parks & Recreation Commission - June 02, 2010 (Commission Question 11 thru Question 31)
• Recommendation presentation to Parks & Recreation Commission - June 02, 2010
• Summary Presentation to Joint Meeting of the Richmond City Council and WCCUSD - January 25, 2011 (Programming & Schematic Design & Budget Approval)
• Presentation to City of Richmond PW andRecreation staff and WCCUSD staff - November 31, 2011 (Design Development)
• Summary Presentation to Joint Meeting of the Richmond City Council and WCCUSD - March 26, 2013 (Design and Project Update)

In addition to these design presentations, there were the following additional activities concerning transfer of program from the Richmond Swim Center to the Richmond Plunge:

• 11/16/12 - Met with aquatic staff to discuss plans at the Plunge after the RSC closure.  Staff then began to inform the public verbally regarding upcoming renovations.  Because staff was unsure of the exact date of closure, the public was informed that it would be possibly as early as spring 2013.
• In late 2013, after receiving further updates from Public Works, staff began informing patrons that he closure would possibly be December 2013.

• 3/5/14 – Signage was posted that the Richmond Swim Center would be closing effective Monday, March 31, 2014 for the renovation. 
• Staff then posted a letter on Monday, March 24th, 2014 at both the Richmond Swim Center and the Plunge to explain the scheduling changes which would take place at the Plunge. 
• Staff distributed a new handheld schedule on Monday, March 24th, 2014 so that it could be taken home by our patrons. 
• 2012 – present - Staff consistently answered questions and informed both Richmond Swim Center and Plunge users about the upcoming changes and accommodations that were made for the multiple user groups. 
• Arecia Yee (supervisor of aquatics programs) also sent the same letter on Monday, March 24th, 2014 to our customers who have private contracts with the City (Richmond Swims & CA Canoe & Kayak) at the Plunge so that they were abreast of the schedule changes and so that they could prepare for the increase in bather loads (more patrons in the water).  The changes do not negatively impact private contracts.
• 3/31/14 – Staff has been informed that our RSC participants attended their aerobics classes this morning at the Plunge.  The only complaint that we are having now is that the Plunge water is too cold. 

All programs have successfully been transferred to the Plunge, except one Aqua Slim-Nastics class normally scheduled for Friday mornings at 9:00 AM due to the current popular Aqua Zumba class, and the Aqua Zumba class normally held Tuesday afternoons at 5:30 PM because the Richmond Swims program is currently being held from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM and the Aqua Zumba instructor could not accommodate a later time slot.
Construction is slated for one calendar year and at this time next year we can have the Ribbon Cutting re-opening this facility. Residents in the Laurel Park and Park Plaza neighborhood should be aware that that a lot of construction trucks will be coming and going for the next 12 months.

Charles Ramsey:

Once again, I appreciate the commitment from the Richmond City Council to make sure that all schools in Richmond remained open during our fiscal crisis and that now one can say with confidence and assurance that it was well worth it.  One only has to point to the Richmond Swim Center and say with pride that the relationship between the City and the School District made a difference for the residents of Richmond.

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Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks again.

Charles T. Ramsey, Esq.
School Board President
West Contra Costa
Unified School District