Tourtellotte Pool upgrade in doubt after sky-high bids
Aug. 9—MANKATO — Bids for the upgrade and modernization of Mankato's Tourtellotte Park municipal pool came in 32% above expectations, putting the long-awaited project in jeopardy.
The Mankato City Council rejected all five bids received for what was expected to be a $6.4 million project to completely renovate the bathhouse, add a zero-depth-entry family pool and install a much larger water slide, among other improvements. All of the bids were a third or more higher than the engineer's estimate, which was created in conjunction with a private engineering firm that specializes in pool projects.
The lowest bid of $8.44 million was from Ebert Construction of Corcoran. Two other bids were in the same range — $8.48 from Tri-State General Contracting of Jackson and $8.6 million from Robert W. Carlstrom of Mankato. The higher bids came from Mankato's Brennan Construction ($9.1 million) and Rochester's Knutson Construction Services ($9.21 million).
Most of the funding for the project is to come from the half-percent local sales tax, which is also being relied on to finance numerous other city projects ranging from a new youth softball complex to repairs on the civic center arena to airport fixes. Several of those other projects have also seen higher-than-anticipated construction costs, leaving the council with little choice Monday night but to reject the bids and hope that a new round of bidding will bring a different result.
The new request for bids will include adjustments to the pool work aimed at reducing costs, including possible cheaper construction materials for some building components and more leeway on when the contractor must put the final touches on the project.
"Rebidding does come with the risk that bids may come in higher," City Manager Susan Arntz warned in a memo to the council. "However, considering the existing bids received compared to the estimate, there is still time to adjust the scope of the project, rebid, and the pool could still be ready for the 2024 season as originally contemplated."
Construction was originally expected to start by mid-August, but the new round of bidding will push that back to Oct. 11 — if an affordable bid is received when new bids are opened on Sept. 13. The pool would be closed for construction throughout the entire 2023 swimming season with a construction completion date of May 24, 2024.
That end date is nearly eight months later than the deadline in the initial round of bidding, which called for the project to be wrapped up by the fall of 2023. While the contractor would not be able to do a great deal of pool work during the winter months, allowing the project to be completed the following May would provide some breathing room if there were supply chain delays for some items.
"Understanding no one is going to be swimming in it in November ... we've extended that date into 2024," Arntz said.
Tourtellotte pool, which last underwent major repairs in the early 1980s, has a unique history and impressive size but not many of the modern features that families seek when looking for aquatic fun. Originally constructed by the Works Progress Administration in 1939-40, the pool includes a rustic stone bathhouse, a diving pool and a competition-quality 50-meter, eight-lane swimming pool.
For a quarter-century or more, some residents have been calling for water slides, a zero-depth-entry pool for younger kids and families, or even a full water park. Over time, the council decided the pool's location adjacent to a residential neighborhood made it a poor spot for a larger water park. And calls for a splash pad are expected to be answered on the city's east side.
But city leaders, even while scaling back the project over the past year, were hopeful that needed renovations and some popular improvements — including a tall slide with a trio of 360-degree turns — were finally on the verge of construction. That may still be the case in two months, but only if bids come down significantly enough to receive council approval on Sept. 26.
The pool, which has been free the past two summers, is scheduled to close for the season on Sunday.
