Or you step off that curve or something.

I mean, last time I did it.

Oh, sometimes because it is more convenient.

Okay.

So you could just give me um.

Hello, hello.

Yes, I think it's a good thing.

Sounds good.

Test test.

Um, yeah.

Where's your uh junior or senior?

Graduate has all boys.

I don't know.

I don't think we're gonna do it.

Well, but one thing you can say with doing something youngest.

Yeah, so you know, she went through all the admissions.

Um kind of held on the cell number she wanted to go.

Um she really matured found out what she wanted to do.

I have to go to the University of Colorado when I'm out there and out of the way.

Oh freaking now excited.

Cool thing is no here we are talking to all they're the only they have the only pool in the country.

But they're stupid and they cut off because it's a color of the buffalo, and that's their mask back.

Oh, it's literally shaking.

From a manufacturer the other day.

Government five.

And by literally almost seems like a bottle.

Actually, how much three programs?

Oh, really?

I got rid of recommendation adventure sports.

That's cool.

This meeting will come to order.

All right.

Uh welcome everyone in our new location here.

Um read a script aloud to the applicants um and the public to give everyone a heads up uh with how the the voting process will work tonight.

We are not voting on any substantive applications.

The only thing we'll be voting on um are the minutes from the last meeting.

And so just for any members of the public who are here, we're doing a concept review of a proposed uh renovation of the pool in Old Town.

We'll be having discussions with the city, but there won't be any kind of voting tonight.

Um and the city uh, you know, any members of the public are welcome to weigh in on that when when the item comes in, uh comes up on the docket.

So with that said, uh Mr.

Conki, what is first on the docket?

First item on the docket this evening is the consideration of the minutes.

All right.

Uh do any of the members of the board have any modifications or suggestions uh for the minutes of the December 17th, 2025 BAR public hearing.

Do any members of the public wish to make any changes to the minutes from that meeting?

Seeing none, can I have a motion on the minutes?

So moved.

All right.

I'm sorry, who was the second Mr.

Adams uh moved and Miss Miller is made.

Thank you very much.

All those in favor of adopting the minutes say aye.

I mean the minutes are adopted.

Okay, Mr.

Conky, what's next?

All right.

We have no items on our new business, so uh we will skip to other business.

Uh only it only docket item tonight.

B AR twenty twenty-five- zero zero five four two Parker Gray.

Request for a concept review at sixteen zero nine Cameron Street.

Parcel addressed fifteen zero one Cameron Street.

The applicant is a city of Alexandria.

City of Alexandria, represented by S by Sophie Taping Zimmerman.

We're ready for it.

Can you hear me hear me okay, everyone?

Yes.

Hello, everyone.

And to see the board of architecture reviews feedback on the concept design.

As you may all know that the pool is fifty years old and it's the it's at the end of its life cycle.

And the goal of this project is to replace existing infrastructure with a more modernized and increased capacity pool um facility to to meet the community's um aqua aquatic needs.

This is not working.

I think I did.

Oh, here guys.

Sorry about that.

So we we're gonna go over the project background and then follow by the site plan, and of course, we'll delve into the bath out design, which is you guys will comment on, and we'll wrap up the presentation with questions and comments.

So I want to introduce you to uh to the project team here, Chow Joy again.

I'm the project manager for this project, and we have Jack Brown with uh RPCA, who is the sponsor project manager, and we'll also have Matt Lendis, who is the profile manager for this project, and David Lowe, who is is the project engineer uh with the city, and we have um consultant team here, uh Keith Lerner, who is the design principal and project manager with RMM, who's leading the architecture engineering services for this project.

And then uh we have also Sophie Zimmerman, who's a project architect with RMM, and we also have an owner advisor on board, but um he's not here today.

Um, John Fennell with the uh Michael Baker.

So O Town Pool is um located in uh historic Parker Great uh district and on Cameron Street uh west of Rec, uh Duran Rec Center and budding by uh a north and west with the and um residential units.

These uh existing pool infrastructure consists of three major components, which is the open lawn facing the fronting the Cameron Street and the bathhouse, and of course the pool area with two bodies of water, uh pump pump room and the pool deck.

So the project area is about 1.12 acres, and um as I said earlier, the pool is 50 years old, uh opened in 1975, has gone through major and minor renovation in order to maintain its operations.

Um actually the past year um the pool experienced multiple filtration failures and had to shut down a few times.

Um the pool size, regarding the pool size, we have two bodies of water, which is a 25-yard lap pool with a diving well and a 900 square feet of family pool.

And the bathhouse, as you can see here, is um located right at the center, and uh it's about a 3,375 square feet.

It's really non-cult compliant and dated, and pump room is located in a northwest corner of the project site and also dated in it multiple um filtration issues.

The current bay flow is 250 uh maximum capacity, and um current programs include includes uh competition practices and swim meets, swimming lessons, and recreational uses for families, and the green space uh as you can see in the front is about half an acre in size.

So I'm gonna hand this presentation to uh our architect uh Keith Leonard letting us present tonight.

Um what you're seeing on the screen now is just a uh sort of context shots of of the buildings and spaces that are around the old town pool.

Um the pool property, and you're seeing office buildings, you're seeing uh the Harvard Street intersection where it intersects with Cameron behind the pool, mostly the backyards of townhouses that front on the train right-of-way that you can see in the uh sort of diagonal on the top left corner of that image.

Um we have the back of the property is a parking lot and a bar retention area that serves both the pool and the adjacent uh Jefferson Houston elementary school.

Uh the Durant Center is to the east of our site, and you can see images of that at the bottom of that slide there.

And this is the pool building itself that was built in 1975.

Um I chuckle because my mentor, my boss designed this building when he was an intern.

And so we've come full circle 50 years later.

Um, but it's a very simple masonry bearing wall structure um whitewash, and uh, you know, you can see what it is.

It is way past time to replace this building.

Um it has a lot of issues, uh, not just functional, but um some structural issues and and waterproofing issues, so it's time for this uh building to move along.

So the proposed uh Chow Joy talked about the existing site plan and what's what's on the site.

What I'm showing you now is the proposed site plan.

Um we're gonna create a single, a pool that has a single body of water.

It'll still maintain eight lap lanes, it'll still have a diving well, but the kitty pool, which is now I call it kitty cool pool, children's pool, family pool, which is now a separate body of water, will be part of the main pool.

And that's what you see.

I really want to point with this, but that's what you see uh in the lower left hand uh part of the pool image there, and it'll be a zero entry uh pool, like a like a beach entry, and there'll be bubblers and fountains and things for kids to splash in and the red lines that you see there, that red dashed lines, they're they're sort of hard to see, but they represent the existing pools, and then that sort of um the one that's lower down on the image there, that represents the outline of the existing bathhouse.

So we wanted you to see what's there in relation to what we're proposing.

Um current site plan has a pump house that's a separate structure, and it's in the upper left-hand corner of that image.

The new project will take that pump house and equipment room and incorporate it into the main building.

We'll talk about that in just a second.

We will have storage space on the deck, and that's outlined there in that image in the upper left-hand corner.

That storage space will be uh bounded by a fence, and the fence will be screened.

And that storage will be for things like lane lines and furniture and things that they have to store away during the off season.

Recall that this pool is just about a three and a half month operation, and then it shuts down for the winter.

Um we have taken the building.

You can see the the location of the building, which is on the um right-hand side of the image, a new building, is set towards Cameron Street more than the old building.

And for that, the reason for that is we're trying to create the pool, it is a little bigger than the old one, and we're also trying to create more deck space.

One of the problems this pool has is it is just it's chock full of chairs and people, and there's just not enough space.

So we're trying to give a little more space, a little more breathing room for people who are visiting.

We've kept the building all the way to the east right on your image side of the site, in keeping with the existing bathhouse, but to the west, to the left on your image, uh, we're creating sort of an event space.

This is a space that the city really wants for things like birthday parties and family reunions and any other event that someone might want to use it for.

So that is just an open area, fenced area that will have chairs and tables and umbrellas and things.

It will likely be used as additional deck space when the pool's in operation, but if a group reserves it, they can use it as their own sort of private event.

Um we really are trying to create an improved waiting and seating area out in front.

Um we are creating a tree-lined, bench-lined walkway that extends from the existing crosswalk at Cameron and Harvard and leads you right up to the front of the building.

One of the operational issues this pool has is it fills up.

And so sometimes there's a waiting line to get in, and they need a nice public space for people to wait.

So we're we're cognizant of that and trying to design this sort of tree-lined walkway that's that's a nice place to wait.

The last thing I'll talk about here is that this building is being designed to comply with the city's 2019 green building policy.

That's lead gold and uh net zero, among other things.

There are other requirements, but those are the two big ones.

So the other thing I just want to point out is that we are as much as we can, even though we're moving the building forward a little bit closer to Cameron Street, we're trying to maintain this public lawn, this activity space.

It's really important civic space.

Lots of different groups use it.

Currently, there's public art on that lawn that will be relocated to a different site in the city.

Certain uh daycare programs come out and use it as their playground.

So it's important to maintain that.

And then we're trying to keep as much green space in the front of the building as we can.

So I'm gonna move on to the next slide unless people have questions.

I have a question, please.

Can you hear me?

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

Which street is Harvard Street?

Is it the shorter street or the longer street?

Harvard Street is the street that can you see the crosswalk coming across Cameron?

Actually, let me go back to the uh aerial photo.

Okay.

That crosswalk that comes across Cameron Street at the bottom of the image dies right into the corner of Harvard and Cameron.

So Harvard goes down out of the out of the picture.

So the the um green pathway walkway where people will stand if they're waiting to get into the pool.

That street leads to Harvard.

Leads to the easternmost sidewalk on Harvard Street.

Okay, that's Harvard.

Okay, and so the other side is Cameron, and people will enter on Harvard.

Well, people will come to the pool property from all over, but they will enter at um, they will enter the building and the pool at the end of that walkway, that tree-lined walkway where there's these two curved sort of site walls up against the building.

Yes.

That's the entrance to the building, and I'll show you some images here in a minute that'll make it.

Okay, thank you.

So just real quickly, the floor plan of the of the bathhouse.

Um, it's quite simple.

It's a very um simple pavilion.

It's actually a little bit smaller than the old um the old bathhouse.

But you come to an entrance, there's a you can see there's a check-in window, and you either go, you will go one of three ways.

And and and keep in mind with a pool bathhouse, you by code you must move through it in such a way that you're not forced, but you're you're able to take a shower.

They want you to take a shower.

So you have to pass through a space that has a shower.

So you either enter into that entry on the left side, or the entry on the right side.

The left side is the men's locker room, uh, right side is the women's, or you go through this universal changing room in the middle of the of the facility, and you exit out onto the pool deck.

So you've come through these spaces.

So, really, it's a very simple plan.

There's two locker rooms, there's a universal changing room in the middle, there's a spine of space that is used by staff, a lifeguard station that faces the pool, a first aid room in the middle, and this check-in area where people check in.

And then on the far right is this pool equipment room that remember is currently a separate building, but now it's it's um combined with the bathhouse.

And that's just for efficiency.

It's a lot easier to build one structure.

Can I ask a question about the design of the um the locker room?

Is there a locker area in the locker room or a changing area?

There's changing area, but the lockers are outside.

Oh, I see.

So it's okay.

I don't know if you've been to Warwick Pool.

Well, the way that's organized is you come through, you shower, you change, you come out, and if you want to keep your um belongings someplace other than at your lounge chair, you can put them in a locker on the pool deck.

Um those lockers are just outside the lifeguard station to the uh left of the lifeguard station in that image.

So the changing area is here uh to the south of the janitor's office, uh the janitor's closet.

Is that the changing area right there?

There's a ch there's a changing area, yes, just south of the janitor's closet.

There's a bench.

Yep, that's a bench.

Okay.

Okay.

So these are the elevations of the building.

Um that faces Cameron Street.

So that's the that's what you see as you approach the building.

Very simple.

Come to a check-in window, check in, go either direction through the locker rooms and and into the pool.

The um building is is brick masonry up to 10 feet, and we're using sort of a red brick, and we're using a darker brick header pattern.

And we're using sort of a red brick, and we're using a darker brick header pattern.

So the header will, these headers that you see will just stick out like half an inch to give that facade a little depth and texture.

We will take that around three sides of the building.

So you'll see that on both the front side and the you know the two short sides, the ones that faced east and face west.

And then that pattern will stop.

And that's the elevation that faces the pool.

The reason we didn't do that there is because there's so many penetrations in that.

So many doors, so many windows that it just that pattern would get lost there.

Is a concrete masonry unit, uh a um a glazed masonry unit, so not just a just cement or cinder block.

It's a nice glazed masonry unit.

And then we're gonna cover it with uh a wood slat, and we're considering a product or uh a species um like Cypress that weathers well and patinas to a nice silver gray for that that product.

The openings you see above that 10 foot line are aluminum frames, very similar to like a storefront, but they don't have glass in them, they're open.

And remember, this is a building that's not heated, not cooled, except for the the three staff spaces you saw.

So those are designed to just let air move through those spaces and naturally ventilate them, the locker room spaces.

Um sorry, do they have any screen on this?

Yes, they're screened.

We don't want bugs and birds and everything else getting in, but we do want the air to move through it.

Um any questions so far?

Can I ask the the the eight by eight?

Is that a concrete block?

The ground face CMU is that standard concrete block, what's what will that look like?

It'll look like a tiny sample of it.

Okay, but it's not a um it's not a rough product like you either give you this is the uh exposed face.

So it's not it's not a painted product, it's this okay now that'll be in an eight inch by eight inch module, but that's just a little sample of what it will look like.

It's got a go ahead.

I'll uh my question is not related to this.

Go ahead.

Go ahead.

Um where was the uh glazed you said it's uh glazed uh kind of brick where was that used or glazed somewhere?

That's the sample I just passed around.

It's glazed CMU and is that that's behind the slats as well.

Okay, yeah.

Okay.

Um the last images we'll show are just some 3D renderings of the of the facility.

Um so we talked about the approach that aligns with Harvard Street and the tree line sidewalk.

I'll admit to taking some artistic license.

Those trees in that image are probably 12 to 15 years old, but they will get to that height, and so you can imagine a nice sort of canopy of trees to walk down as you approach the building.

At the far end, you see the uh the walkway aligns with the reception window, and you can sort of get a sense of how that brick, those headers sort of pop out of that um uh red brick field, uh if you will.

And then here's just an image from a little bit farther away.

This is where the driveway hits or intersects with Cameron Street, and Durant Center is on the uh right-hand side of that image.

And then there's a view farther down Cameron Street, and then this view again, some artistic license.

We took the trees away.

If we left them in there, you wouldn't be able to see anything.

They would they would obscure the building, but uh just to give you an idea how it lays out in three dimensions, how it uh its massing uh compares to some of the other buildings adjacent to it, and how the fence works, you know, the the whole pool area, just like it is today will be fenced for security.

So, really the only way in or out will be through that bathhouse.

Um, and then you can see how the size of that front lawn relates to the rest of the site.

And that's all I've got.

If you've got questions, happy to I have a question about the fence in the front.

Um I mean it looks how tall is that fence?

Well, okay.

Let me make clear.

There's no the the dark line you see along the um Cameron Street side of the room.

Oh no, I mean the fence, the the one that's connected to the bathhouse.

Parallel to the building?

Yeah.

Okay.

It's it's at the height that it is today.

Okay.

And it's this gonna be the same type of fence.

It's uh wrought iron looking fence.

In in I I know this is an early concept, but in in one of your renderings you showed a bike, and it made me wonder is there a plan to put a bike rack here somewhere, and where do you think you would put it?

No, we don't have them, but we have since this image was done, we have added bike racks.

Um just to the right of the entrance, there are two trees that that are in that row of trees that parallels the building.

Right between those two trees on the right, there's a set of is it six?

Okay, okay.

Eight racks between those two trees, and on the other side, eight between the other two trees.

So total of sixty, and that's part of what we're doing in terms of sustainability and obtaining lead credits and that sort of stuff.

Um that and I was wondering, so for the net zero, the photovoltaic panels on the roof, is that going to be able to power all your pool equipment?

And the condenser for the offices or yeah, I mean the condenser for the offices is basically a residential system.

It's it's only um go back to the plan.

We are only heating and cooling.

Well, we're not even heating, we're cooling the lifeguard station, the first aid station, and the check-in.

So it's three or four hundred, five hundred square feet total.

It's smaller than a standard house.

So it'll probably just be a like a little split system, won't take much energy at all.

But yes, the goal, and we're working through the engineering right now, is that it'll provide all the power for the building, and then some because remember, the building only operates three and a half to four months a year.

Those panels will be there twelve months a year generating power.

So for a lot of the year, we'll be selling power back to the grid, and the city will be benefiting.

Will the bathhouse have the same capacity that it that the current one has in terms of the number of people?

Yeah, actually the the pool capacity, the what they call the bather load is increasing a little bit from like 250 to 280.

Yeah.

But like in terms of the number of changing rooms or toilets or whatever is that it's it's more.

The new one is more.

Uh is the current bathhouse uh also open in terms of kind of the upper aspect of it, or does it have HVAC?

It's not heated and cooled.

No, it's just naturally ventilated.

Yeah, okay.

Because I it just seems to me that somebody coming in to change when it's already 95 degrees and 95% humidity that that's not a very pleasant environment for having to change clothes.

Well, what we're working on doing with those openings in the in the wall, and we'll have uh large ceiling fans in that space is to move a lot of air.

Um not heat it, not cool it, but just move it so that you have that feeling of of the air moving by you, which which is has a cooling effect.

Um, unless anyone has any more questions, I would propose that we open it up to comments from the public, and then we can come back to the board with deliberative comments, unless anyone has questions.

So are there any members of the public here who would like to make comments on this design?

I thought maybe we had one.

Okay.

Have you filled out a speaker form yet?

I have the dock number and there's no board any more it's okay.

Uh it's it's docket number three.

Uh and then Mr.

Conki, where should Mr.

Malone speak from?

Oh, so if you would just give us one second to let the public comment and then you can come right back.

And how do we do the timer?

Oh wow.

Don't handle the back.

So I won't be here.

I won't be here messing it up like I usually do.

Yeah.

Okay.

Or using my phone like I've had to do recently.

All right.

Well, the floor is yours.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Chairman, members of the board.

My name is Steve Malone.

Uh I live at 907 Prince Street, and I wish we were meeting closer to where most of us live.

If we are at the Durant Center, we could look at this site as on our way into the building.

Um I guess we'll we'll make a pitch to City Hall on that.

Um this is a great project.

The pool is old, and many of us have used it for years and we love it.

But it I know it's been hard for staff to keep it up.

Um so overall it's great that the city is doing this.

Um that they're gonna meet uh competition standards for the length of the pool, increased the length of the pool from 25 yards and all that architecturally.

I think it could be brought up a level.

Uh I know it's simple enough.

Uh I think the solar is great.

Uh, and the overall design is fine, but I think it would be better if it was just standard modular red brick and blonde brick or precast rather than a combination of weathering wood and bare concrete and things like that.

The buildings that surround it are built like that too, like the colonial revival townhouses are red brick and the Grant Center and even the new Jefferson Houston is brick and metal higher quality than I think than that's being proposed here.

Um I brought I will pass up to you when I'm done, but I brought a picture of the uh power uh surround at harborside, which is similar in that it's a simple one story.

This is actually twice as large, and it doesn't have I don't think the pool house has to be as fancy as this, but this core it pulls in quality and design details that kind of make it look really special for just being a transformer yard uh that I think could you know if this could be brought up to level it would be better.

Um I don't I don't support the kid, I know this is separate from your requirements, but uh I'm glad to hear there's bice cracks because there's lots of people to bike here and we take our kids there on strollers too, and you need to lock those up.

Uh so I wonder if even two or vate or enough.

Oh, and I'm representing Old Town Civic.

I don't know if I can get another two minutes.

You can have five minutes.

Thank you.

Um I love the entry walk with the benches and the the trees, that's great.

Uh and retention of the open lawn.

Uh sad to see the uh the silhouette structure uh statues going away, but I'm glad they're gonna be used somewhere else.

Hopefully it's on the waterfront or somewhere where it'll get even more visibility.

Um kitty pool works really great, especially as it is now, it has a separate little fence around it.

So it's great for both children and caregivers that the kids aren't spilling into the other pool.

This uh graduated depth uh kitty area connected to the new pool.

Is it also immediately next to the diving area where often there are lots of big kids jumping around making lots of noise and things, and it seems like we're having we're building in a conflict that's unnecessary if we can have a separate uh kiddie pool area.

Uh I know it adds expense, but I think it's really important.

We're gonna have it for another half a century through my grandkids, hopefully.

Um I think that's it.

Uh thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Malone.

Appreciate your comments.

Are there any other public speakers?

Um have you filled out a speaker form yet?

Terrific.

Um if you can bring it up here to Miss Novaeas.

Terrific.

And will you be speaking on behalf of an organization or yourself?

No, I'm a resident of Harvard Street.

Okay, so just one second.

We'll pull up the timer.

You'll have three minutes, and then when you start, if you can just tell us your name and an address for the record, and then the floor is yours.

Thank you.

Okay, thanks.

Uh my name's Melissa Burns.

I live at 126 Harvard Street, and I was uh fortunate enough to come to the community discussion that we had at the Durant Center, and again, very supportive of this project.

Just had a couple of uh thoughts and questions that I wanted to share with the designers uh and and with the board.

I love that y'all have moved the entrance over a little bit.

Uh that also came up at the community um discussion.

But is your speaker on?

I just want to make sure.

Yeah, so maybe it's hard to hear you look at it.

Sorry.

Sure thing.

So I love that the entrance has been moved over a bit to the right to maintain some of that activity lawn.

I wonder if it could be moved over even more rather than bifurcating that lawn.

Um it it does get used an awful lot.

And so that would be something that I would ask folks to consider.

Um I also know at the community meeting uh we brought up the idea of possibly adding heat so that we could add more time for use of the pool.

It's this big project, it's gonna be quite expensive.

Um right now our season is quite short.

Um, and so that would be something that I was just wanting to follow up on and hear from the designers about to see if that was still a consideration.

Um and then lastly, I know that there's uh a bit of a tension between wanting to have a nice space for people to come and spend the day, but also making sure that we get sufficient room for people to move through the pool.

Um, I know for my family, we just want to go, we want to cool off, and we want to leave.

And we end up oftentimes having to wait an hour, hour and a half, sometimes two hours just to get into the pool to go for a 20-minute swim and go home.

Um and so I I love the idea that we want to have some shade and that we want to have chairs for people so that it's a comfortable space, but there's there's a balance that needs to be struck with also increasing the capacity so that people don't have to wait so long.

So those are just the things that occurred to me again.

Very supportive of the project, very supportive of all the work that's been done, and thank you for giving me some time to speak.

Thank you very much.

Are there any additional speakers who would like to be heard on this concept review?

All right, seeing none, we will close the public comment portion and invite the architect to come back up if you'd like.

Um and now I'll open it up for deliberative comments um and any further questions from my colleagues on the board.

Is there anyone who'd like to start?

Uh I can't.

Um following up on one of Mr.

Malone's comments about the kitty pool.

I actually was wondering why is it integrated?

I would think just from a potentially kind of sanitary point of view that that's not necessarily a good idea.

Yeah, uh Jack can talk about that and and operational issues, but before he does, I just want to point out that um Mr.

Malone was absolutely right.

The pool, uh the kitty pool area and the zero entry area, um actually by code needs to be separated from that dive well.

We can't have a two-year-old walking across that little peninsula and falling into the 12 foot deep.

So there actually is a fence.

It's about a four-foot tall fence, about the same height of fence that separates the today's kitty pool from the other, that comes right across that peninsula, so that that sort of accident can happen.

Yeah, thank you.

Um Jack Broundum um with the deputy director with the Department of Recreation Parks and Cultural Activities.

So, yeah, we did have a uh a discussion with regard to whether there should be an integrated pool or not.

And um what we found was from an operational point of view, it's actually much more difficult to maintain the necessary um measures that you need to have with water quality in the smaller pool due to its depth.

Um, there's a lot of evaporation that occurs with the solar energy and so forth, and we actually close it down or have to stop it to rebalance the um the chemicals in the pool more from environmental concerns or um effects as opposed to any environmental.

Um and we can also control any potential contamination for the entire pool um based on the type of programming that occurs.

Um what we have found to address even some of the concerns from the community that were come to hear is that we have found that the zero entry integrated pool, specifically that's at Warwick, is exceedingly popular with family members.

Um they like the idea that there is sort of the uh you know the ability to go up and down in in that area, and that we find that even at Warwick Pool, that the majority of the families that are in that pool stay in that um sort of beach entry area, so that it has so but from an operational point of view, consolidation, also, you know, quite frankly, financial.

Um, you know, the this is a tight budget project, and you know, we need and want to meet all of the environmental needs with the 2019 green building policy.

So that's also generating some of the size and the in the different design features that our design team is incorporating.

The other thing I'd like to answer, just in case you're wondering, it did come up the artwork.

So the artwork is actually that was always in contemplated to be a temporary site, and that it was um we expanded its um use here in the city because that piece, if if you recall, came out literally in 2020, right when COVID hit, and it was fenced off for about nine months of the year, but it actually has been gifted to Wada, and that this spring it will be relocated to the Braddock Road Metro station.

So that's where it'll be a permanent home.

I have a question for you while you're up here.

The um the event space.

Yes.

I see a large opening in the fence there.

Is the do is the design here intended to accommodate like a trailer coming in there to be used for like an ice cream truck or if people are renting the space to bring like a grill in or anything or no?

Maybe a small grill, possibly, but no, no um food trucks or anything of that type.

So what it's it's really like a large patio.

Yeah.

And so what you see in the middle, there is really a separation.

It's it could be an area to where you bring in things to the pool, and and also for maybe an evacuation route if you need to um you know, shelter uh off site or something.

So that's what's representative with that that opening and space between the building.

Um I am saying that right, right?

Where that little gray area they're looking at graphic is uh one on the left hand side of the event space.

Okay.

It's just a line.

Okay.

Yeah.

It's not an opening.

Oh, okay.

Yeah.

And is it building?

That will just be used for people and regulating those paper split or things like that, but there's no big opening in the business.

Okay.

Yeah.

And again, it's the health code requires anybody getting on the deck to literally go through one of those areas.

And so although there will be opportunities to get to that event space that way, that will not be necessarily fully encouraged, won't be a primary public access point.

Even if you're not intending on swimming, you will need to go through um, you know, one of the um locker rooms and or the family sort of gender neutral um changing station.

Thanks.

Um, does anyone else have comments they'd like to offer?

Um for the pool equipment.

Will you be having louvers on like the east elevation or yeah, likely um small ones for air intake, but um nothing big.

And that'll be sort of laid out in the next phase of our design, which is design development, and that'll be on the elevations when we come back to you for final approval.

Okay, thanks.

Did I read I I read the packet earlier today that the um ceiling or the uh height of the bathhouse is being lowered from what it is now?

Correct.

And why what was that thinking?

Just that we can do it with a smaller structure and why spend the money to make space that we don't necessarily need.

I I can appreciate that.

It I did, however, wonder when uh Miss Pratt, one of my board members, questioned whether it should be what what the comfort level on a hot day in the bathhouse.

And I was thinking that if the ceilings were higher, it may be cooler in the space.

Yeah, I mean my only thought.

Understand, understand.

I mean, we're as with any project we're we're balancing um operational issues with budgetary issues.

So we we've got that that ceiling in there is probably 14 or 15 feet at the low end and 16 or 17 feet at the high end.

The idea is that fans are gonna move air, you know, air wants to ride, hot air wants to ride.

I'm gonna move it along that slope ceiling and out the pool side of the building.

Um, and again, just keep air moving through those spaces.

Today it's pretty still in there when you go in there.

Um so we don't want to duplicate that.

Right.

Okay, thank you.

Um thank you.

I I think this will be a nice addition to um old town, this west part of old town.

Um I think the the thought about tying it a little closer to Jefferson Houston is a good one, even if you're matching the brick or taking a look at some of the window details, I think, because that's really completing that block.

Got it.

Um I have a question on the uh the detail on the brick.

It looks to be another color.

Uh is what's the material for that?

Uh it's just a brick that's darker, like um the field color would be a red brick, and then the um the little points you see, which are the header bricks, just be a darker red or uh a gray or something.

We're we're still working on exactly what that would be, but we wanted to show you the intent of the patterning.

Right.

And maybe it's sort of easier to see in that image.

Right.

It looks great.

And um the uh the ground face CMU.

I'm just worried that it looks unfinished as if it was a budget cut and uh just like this exposed CMU, which is not very pleasant to see.

So I want to make sure that we all understand the difference between just a regular concrete masonry unit, which is sort of I agree with you.

It's pretty awful.

Um I think what I need to do when I come back to you all is bring you photographs of that stuff to sh to show you how finished it does look.

Um I don't think that the little two by two sample I gave you gives you an idea.

Right.

So we'll bring some photographs of that and how it looks installed and uh you know a large expanse of it.

I think that would be helpful.

Okay.

Yeah, thank you.

Along those same lines, what is the interior roll surfaces at the end of the day?

Painted CMU.

Okay.

Is that state-of-the-art pool house?

This this look we're getting, it reminds me of a pool of a pool house of a bygone era.

What I'm sorry, what is what's what we see in pot pool houses today, the modern pool modern pool houses.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, as simple as possible.

Okay, thank you.

In regards to the ground face block, I I understand what it is.

I just I think the coloring the gray color, I think is the problem.

Okay.

That it's a when you see gray block, regardless if it's ground face or not, it still feels like it's not a nicer product.

Yeah.

Because from a distance you can't tell.

It's just it looks like gray block.

Okay.

So maybe you should.

I love ground face block personally, don't get me wrong, but I just think you should maybe consider a different color, maybe, or a different shade of gray.

Okay.

Um, because that looks that color there is very close to standard ground face block.

Right.

I mean, standard block.

Yeah.

I think the other thing I'll try to do when we come back is bring uh maybe some sort of mock-up of how that wood slat will look over top of that CMU.

Um how big a sample I can heft in here, but we'll we'll give it a go.

Uh my last comment is what I'm interested to see is the transition detail between the brick and the block and the wood slat.

Um because my concern without knowing the detail is that the bottom of the slat is probably going to be cut, even though it's a nicer wood, it's going to be cut and over time that could wick up water and cause damage.

Well, I really appreciate the design.

I think it's really nice.

I like the contrasting header.

It has kind of a 1960s um mid-century look to it, but I think that's really appropriate for a bathhouse.

And I like the idea for the wood slats as well.

The only thing that I'm thinking about, just from a general architectural character perspective is, and I'm looking at this rendering, I don't know if you can bring it up, but it's the it's the one um that shows just the whole site plan.

Oh, there it is.

So it's a three-month facility, but it will be there all the time.

And the way you have the um sort of family area, you've got one fence and then another fence, and then you have a third fence by the kitty pool.

If I'm a pedestrian, you know, walking down Cameron Street, I'm gonna see this nice pool house building, and then I'm just gonna see a series of fences all year round.

And so what I would encourage you to do, and I know you probably are budget constrained, but if there's any way you can differentiate that fenced-in area so that for a pedestrian or someone driving by, they're not just looking through many layers of fences in November.

Is there some kind of a hardscape or a landscape element you can put in there that would add color or texture or just dress it up a little bit for in the summer it'll be a hive of activity, but it's going to be there year round, and and I think you know, maybe put some consideration into how it's gonna interact with the street even when it's not in use.

Understood.

I have one more quick question, and it was regarding is there gonna be any lighting on this?

Oh, yeah.

Um, because you know, I see like lovely pathways, but I don't didn't see any lighting or anything like a bollard lights or overhead lights or yeah.

I mean, we're working on that right now with a lighting consultant, um, an electrical engineer.

You know, we're looking at bollard lights along that pathway so that they're just pools of light.

Um, one of the other things we're uh contemplating is sort of uplighting those trees.

Um we are investigating sort of an LED strip light that would run underneath or the brick stops, and there's a row lock course to sort of the the brick comes up and then there's that roll lock course, it would project and we put an LED strip underneath that projection to wash that brick and really accentuate the the header pieces that pop out and and accentuate that uh pattern, if you will.

Okay.

So yes, we're exploring all that.

It'll be in the next pack in the next package.

Okay, thank you.

Uh I have one question.

Is uh is there a fence all around uh the pool area as well?

Uh I do uh agree with Mr.

Scott on the layered of land uh fences, maybe the one between the paved area for this event space and the pool could be like a some land escape feature, like a raised uh planter or something that would make it look nicer.

Yeah, we can explore that.

Um I I did uh have another question about some of the open space and whether you were looking into providing permanent shade structures or canopies either on the pool deck or the event uh area.

We are researching shade structures.

I don't know that they'll be permanent, but one of the things we heard from the community meeting is that yes, it's tough to be there in the summer.

They need more shade structures, so yes, we're looking into that.

It may be large umbrellas, it may be um sort of this sail fabric stuff that you see, and it may be such that you know there are uh sleeves in the concrete deck when they open the pool in the spring, they put posts in, they string up the shade structures, but then at the end of the season, they can take all that down and store it away so it's not being weathered eight months out of the year.

Um so that's the sort of thing we're exploring.

Okay.

Anything else?

Well, thank you for the presentation.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

All right, Mr.

Conky, what's next on our agenda?

That's all we have on our docker for tonight.

Um, a couple of announcements.

Uh let's see.

So we our next hearing will be on the 21st.

It'll be here.

Um, it is a rather lengthy docket, so you know, have a snack.

Yeah.

Um couple of other items we have coming up.

Um the 13th, which will be uh next Tuesday evening.

Um the appeal for the city hall will be heard in this room as well.

Yeah.

Um, and then we have we do have another appeal, 910 King Street um will be heard in this room on uh January 24th.

So those are some upcoming um meetings.

Okay, and just for anyone who's here, we are here in this room for at least one more BAR meeting.

That's right.

And then there is a plan eventually to relocate to another location.

We're working on some details, and and we're hoping hoping that'll happen in February.

We're starting to do that.

And so stay tuned for an announcement.

Stay tuned for an announcement.

Okay.

Thanks everybody for coming.

Um any final matters from anyone else?

No.

The hearing is adjourned.

I thought.