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McALLEN — Gatorade water no more.
McAllen school board trustees approved Monday up to $785,000 in renovations to the Nikki Rowe natatorium that the district says will address issues parents and athletes have raised recently about the pool, among them a complaint that its water sometimes has a murky Gatorade-colored hue to it.
Left in unclear waters is the status of prospective talks on a joint city-school natatorium, which have so far failed to officially precipitate.
Renovations approved by the board Monday include new pool plastering, deck drains, stainless steel hardware and ladders.
Other improvements include heaters, pumps, UV sanitizers, a filtration system, underwater lighting, a chemical monitoring/feed system and backflow protection, equipment and locker room upgrades, chemical storage, a sound system and safety equipment.
Trustees awarded the contract for the improvements to La Feria’s South Texas Pools, the sole bidder.
Trustee Sam Saldivar noted Monday that some other issues with the building are being addressed outside of Monday’s agenda item.
The natatorium’s flooring and ventilation system, Executive Director for Facilities Maintenance & Operations Ruben Trevino told trustees, has been assessed by experts and doesn’t need renovation presently.
“And now we know where we stand with those upgrades,” he said.
Trevino said renovations will address the color of water in the pool and should be completed by December.
McAllen school board trustees approved Monday up to $785,000 in renovations to the Nikki Rowe natatorium that the district says will address issues parents and athletes have raised recently about the pool, among them a complaint that its water sometimes has a murky Gatorade-colored hue to it.
A couple people showed up in public comment to thank the board for considering the improvements, including Memorial Sophomore and Girls Swim Team Captain Emma Nelson.
“I think it would give our students not only a better place to swim, but also a sense of security in knowing they’re always going to have that pool and it’s always going to be there for them when they’re training for whatever — minor or major competitions that are coming up,” she said.
Potential discussions between the district and the city of McAllen on a new natatorium partnership, however, appear to so far remain inert.
In March, trustees and Superintendent J. A. Gonzalez said informal talks with city leadership on a natatorium partnership were happening.
The city declined to comment, though Commissioner Pepe Cabeza De Vaca said he’d talked to four trustees on the school board about a partnership and described a new natatorium as “needed.”
He said planning for a joint workshop was underway, though that meeting has yet to materialize.
Trustees pumped the brakes some Monday on where they stood as far as a partnership.
Trustee Debbie Crane-Aliseda noted that the Rowe improvements are unrelated to a new natatorium push and that the board isn’t even technically in discussions with the city on a natatorium project yet.
“We’re not,” she said. “And so I just think that we need to be very clear, we’re not in discussions to build a natatorium … I just want to make that very clear, that we’re working on our natatorium, but we’re not in discussions with the city of McAllen to build another natatorium.”
Trustee Conrado “Ito” Alvarado said there have been discussions with the city, albeit informal ones, though he too added a note of caution.
“So I know there’s interest on their part, so what I ask Dr. Gonzalez is, if they’re interested and this board is interested, down the road, that we possibly can discuss it with them …” he said.
However, it’s not going to happen overnight.
“So I told the community too, it’s nothing that’s gonna happen overnight. It’s gonna take time,” Alvarado said.
Saldivar echoed that sentiment, noting that strong opposition killed a previous city/school natatorium project. He added a prerequisite topic to those discussions that he’s introduced before: the need for discussion on a facility education masterplan.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” Saldivar said.
