In Response to an Inquiry About Upcoming Construction

Recently, a member of DHARA inquired to the board about the plans for the upcoming facilities work to the bathhouse, fire escape and front egress. It was requested that the board ensure we are taking some of the other, structural issues that have come up into consideration as we look at moving forward with the construction.

The board wants very much to work with transparency, as openly as possible. With that, we have decided to post the full response here, so that all members can be made aware of where we currently stand. If, after reading this you have any questions, feel free to email the board at info@dhara.org and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.

Thank you very much for your letter ….

We are grateful for the concerns, input, and recommendations we have received from several members about prioritizing various projects we are working on, including the renovation of the bathhouse, modifying the egresses in the Community House, mitigating water damage in the pumproom, repairing a crack near the stairs into the main pool, and repairing erosion under the deck.  We also take into account maintenance to the “Inscoe” house next door, the 1920s bungalow that our Association owns and rents out.

In the past year we have had several discussions of the pros and cons of proceeding on the bathhouse and egress projects at the same time, including potential cost savings from working on the projects simultaneously and minimizing the disruption to our members and others who use the Community House.  For example, if we pursue the projects consecutively, it will extend the time that no one can use the Community House, because it cannot be used when it is under renovation and then cannot be used when the bathrooms are closed for renovation.  After those several discussions, the Board has concluded that it would be most efficient time- and cost-wise to undertake the renovations concurrently.

We consider the renovations to the bathhouse to be important to improving the health of our facility.  Our work to mitigate mold in the ceiling of the bathhouse increases every year and cannot be solved until we replace the material and improve ventilation and drainage.  The bathhouse renovations are not simply to beautify our facilities; those renovations are designed to eliminate potential health hazards.  Board members, association members, and guests have expressed persistent concerns for several years about the quality of the bathrooms.  The Board is acting on concerns and has been working hard over the past year to get the projects and financing underway.

We also are carefully monitoring and investigating the effect of increased water in the pumproom.  The pumproom for our pool is located behind the diving board area below the pool level and largely below ground level.  In 2015, as part of our long-term planning, the Board retained a structural engineer to evaluate the physical infrastructure surrounding the pumproom — as well as other parts of our property and the Inscoe house — and concluded that we will need to undertake improvements to the pumproom in the next several years.  By the first half of this year, we received the average rainfall for an entire year, and we also experienced more water in and around the concrete in the pumproom.  The Board, as a group, has reviewed first hand the situation in the pumproom twice this year and this summer retained a structural engineer to provide a more in-depth evaluation than was provided in 2015.  That work is underway now and will allow us to evaluate how quickly and what efforts need to be undertaken to reduce the effect of water around the pumproom before the pool reopens next season.

Once we have the engineers’ evaluation, we will be able to discuss any effects on other projects.  We are continuing to proceed cautiously with the next steps for the other projects and will continue to monitor all of the conditions.  As we move forward with these necessary projects, we will continue our stewardship of Association funds and resources.  Our responsibility to the membership as a Board is to maintain and improve the quality of our property to provide a healthy and safe facility to all of our members.  And we will continue to keep you updated as we gather and evaluate information.

Best wishes,
Scott Christensen