Politics & Government

Concrete Flooring Issue Delays Timbers Opening

City officials now say the new Eureka community recreation center will not be up and running in time to make it worth opening its outdoor pool.

If you’ve been hoping that Eureka’s new community center, The Timbers, would be open in time for taking a dip in its outdoor pool, it’s time to stop holding your breath.

Mayor Kevin Coffey said the opening for the long-anticipated and occasionally controversial facility has been pushed back due to construction delays. He declined to give a firm date, but it will likely fall sometime in September or October.

“We had hoped to be open a month and half ago,” Coffey said, adding that it would be “financial irresponsible” to open the pool so late in the summer. “We didn’t anticipate the problem with the moisture.”

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The source of the delay is the concrete flooring that is being installed for the nearly 30,000-square-foot building. Coffey said they discovered moisture levels inside the concrete were too high and had to wait for weeks before they could go forward with putting it in.

“That moisture will eventually seek to migrate out of that floor,” Coffey said. “It can cause non-adherence of the floor material and other problems, like buckling and bubbling.”

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This in turn held up some other items that couldn’t be done without the floor first being in place. Coffey said it is now being installed and he expects the process to take several weeks, followed by several more weeks to move in furniture and set up equipment before the Timbers can open.

The delay could also have some consequences for the contractor in charge of the project. According to Coffey, the city’s contract for the project provides for the possible assessing of penalties if it wasn’t finished by Aug. 10.

The penalties only kick in if the delays were avoidable and Coffey said that determination hasn’t been made yet, but it is being discussed and reviewed by the city and the contractor.

For now, Coffey said he is just glad “things are moving again.”

“We are getting excited,” he said. 


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