Facility should be open in May 2025
By Barb Pert Templeton
It’s been several years in the making but plans to put a new city pool in at the Lions Field in Algonac have officially started following a groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 9.
When contacted after the event Algonac City Councilman Michael Bembas, a longtime proponent of getting the old pool replaced, said the groundbreaking ceremony turned out great. He said former Algonac mayor and current city council candidate Terry Stoneburner attended the event as did Diane Chemelewski, Kathy Doan, and other individuals from the community.
“Of course, every council person was there and of course Senator Hertel was there along with the engineer and architect,” Bembas said, noting that the architect, the engineer, Gillis and Hertel all said a few words during the ceremony.
In a press release about the event Sen. Hertel noted the significance of having a community pool and complimented city leaders for their work on the project.
“Today is an exciting day for the city of Algonac,” he said. “As the father of two young boys, I know how important a pool can be to families and an entire community. It not only provides residents with a way to stay active, but it serves as a space for creating memories and connecting with neighbors. “I’m grateful for Mayor Gillis’ partnership in this endeavor.”
“Today has been a long time in the making, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Senator Hertel’s shared vision for the city of Algonac,” Mayor Gillis said. “The funds he secured will help transform and improve the quality of life of our residents, leaving a lasting imprint on generations to come. I can’t wait until we can come back to open this space and invite families to dive in.”
A bit of background
Algonac City Councilman Michael Bembas has kept the topic about reopening the city pool on people’s minds at city council meetings for years.
In July 2020, Algonac’s pool was closed due to significant water loss and safety concerns. Ever since then, community leaders and residents have been actively working to bring it back.
In 2021, the city hired an architect to design a new pool and began to field bids for construction. After the anticipated cost of the project came in higher-than-expected, Gillis and other officials reached out to Sen. Hertel to identify solutions to their roadblock. Sen. Hertel was responsive and immediately got to work advocating during negotiations for the project to be included in the final budget.
The project stalled a bit but then Hertel came through with $1 million dollars from the state budget in July and the project moved forward.
At a recent meeting officials reviewed two bids received for the project, one from Robert Clancy Contracting and one from Wolverine Building Group. In a memo to the council, City Manager Denice Gerstenberg said both contractors were qualified for the scope of the project.
The Clancy Contracting’s bid was $2,924,301 and Wolverine’s bid was $3,133,851 and both came in last April. Officials awarded the pool bid to Robert Clancy Contracting for $2,924,301.
“It’s been a four-year battle to get the funds to get this done, and everyone on council worked hard to get it done,” Bembas said. “Everyone was calling and writing letters and doing everything possible to get grants and funding and we finally got it.”
The old pool will be taken out and replaced with a new one and this is a sketch of the plans for it.
Bembas pool’s biggest cheerleader
After spending so much time keeping the topic of replacing the city pool front and center at city council meetings Bembas remains very excited and proud to see a new pool coming to life in Algonac.
“This pool means so much to me for various reasons,” he said. “The pool is a tradition in Algonac, we’ve had one since the 1950s and now we have one again and I think it’s great because if it saves one life by teaching one child how to swim it’s well worth the money and again it adds to our community.”
The plans for the new pool are also something he’s really looking forward to enjoying including the fact that it’s a walk-in, heated pool suitable for everyone from children to senior citizens.
“It’s good for senior citizens because of course, most of our community is senior citizens,” Bembas said. “So, I’m glad we were able to make this compatible for the different age groups in our community.”
He said the city is also just starting the process of having a community center and the pool is the first part.
“This does nothing except to increase the value of our city and the property values of our citizens which is like money in the bank,” Bembas said. “It is so important to me to make Algonac a great place to live, and this is one of the steps to do it.”
Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2025.
