The Gilley Pool is hoping to make a splash with an approximately $30,000 replacement slide.
The McMinnville city Parks and Recreation is seeking a new slide for the Gilley Pool after having some issues with the previous slide that was removed last year. Justin Scott told the city Parks and Rec Committee last week, “We had a slide, an original slide, that was almost 20-years-old on the deck.”
Scott continued, “Just before the 2022 season, we needed to purchase a platform for that slide, and then we did an inspection on it and found that, structurally, it had some blemishes. So I had Nolan (Ming) come over and we actually checked it out and considered it not to be safe, so we took it down.”
The slide in question was the double flume slide, and it was removed for the 2022 season. He told the committee that he and wellness and aquatics coordinator Katie Smartt wrote the bid specifications for a new slide and sent it out to five bidders. Scott said, “We ended up getting one bid.” The bid is from Spectrum Aquatics, and the slide is a Bliss Products slide.
He added, “I had actually seen this slide at the Sparta YMCA and thought it was perfect for our pool. It’s not fancy; it’s mainly going to be new.” This new slide differs from the previous slide in design and its use of steel frames.
The bid came out to $31,275. Scott told the committee, “We had actually budgeted $53,000 for a new slide, so we feel like after reading over the specs (specifications), it is going to meet our specifications. We are going to do the install ourselves, maintenance that is.”
Alderman Rachel Kirby asked, “So it’s $20,000 less? That’s wonderful.”
Scott responded, “It is wonderful. I was actually excited about that. You know, the install was going to add a lot to it, but again, we can do this in-house. So that’s great, we’ll save some money.”
Alderman Steve Harvey asked for more clarification on the type of slide. Scott responded saying that it’s just two slides on the same structure. Kirby asked if they got money back for doing the self-installation, and Scott answered that the bid is just the total price of the slide and there’s no money back for installing in-house.
City attorney Tim Pirtle told the committee that this would need to be sent to the full Board due to the price, if approved. The committee unanimously approved the purchase of the new slide, and it will be recommended to the full Board at the next Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting.
