Board member presents lower‑cost metal‑building concept for aquatic center; staff to compare costs

PUEBLO WEST, Colo. — A board member presented Aug. 25 a concept to build an indoor aquatic center using a pre‑manufactured metal building to reduce construction cost from prior estimates. The presenter said this concept — an 11,900‑square‑foot metal building containing a 42-by-84 pool and locker rooms — could deliver an indoor pool for about $4.5 million, leaving funding to support other park projects.

The presenter described the package as a verified building quote with subcontractor input gathered over three weeks, and said the estimate includes a 15% contingency and the approximately $450,000 already spent on architectural design. “This is proposed on a metal building... It comes to $4,500,230. And if you see at the bottom, it's, that if we're working with 9,000,000, that leaves approximately 4,500,000 that we could do something else,” the presenter said.

Why it matters: the district previously has considered an $8.9 million design for an aquatic center; a materially cheaper option could allow an indoor facility to be built sooner or free funds for other recreation projects, but would require site selection, soil/geotechnical work and finalized construction documents.

Staff and board members discussed costs for HVAC, humidification and IT that could vary; the presenter identified shell cost, framing and pool vendor quotes and said HVAC was the most uncertain estimate. Board members asked about soil testing and procurement steps; staff said geotechnical investigations are pending and recommended staff get competitive quotes for soils work and confirm whether the current design contract has already started that work.

Ending: staff agreed to compare the metal‑building concept to the existing design and to pursue soil-sampling cost comparisons so the board can evaluate alternate approaches before final design decisions.