The latest update on progress on the long-awaited public pool proposed at NTC Liberty Station is: well, there is none.
“The request for proposal (RFP process) has closed and there was only one bidder — the Peninsula YMCA. Its bid was deemed ‘not responsive’ by the city,” said Craig Gustafson, press secretary/director of media relations for Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “The city is currently evaluating the next steps to move forward.”
That next step, he said, might involve the city’s requesting Peninsula Y to tweek its RFP bid.
The rejection left Peninsula YMCA officials with some questions.
“The YMCA’s proposal was not accepted. It was deemed non-responsive and the RFP was canceled,” said Vince Glorioso, Peninsula Y’s executive director.
Adding the city “did not say why” the Y’s RFP bid was rejected, Glorioso said it could stem from problems with “amortization,” the paying off of debt with a fixed repayment schedule in regular installments.
“One of the things that happened in our conversation with the city was the idea of amortizing the capital investment in the RFP, which was for a concessions agreement on a 10-year basis,” said Glorioso. “That was one of the challenges. Some adjustments needed to be made to the RFP for potential reimbursement of capital costs.”
Glorioso said the Y would still consider renegotiating terms for the pool RFP, however.
“Certainly, we’d be open to that conversation,” he said.
YMCAs currently operate more than 20 public pools countywide.?Earlier this year, the city issued an RFP for an organization to come in and develop, operate and lease out the proposed 20,000-square-foot aquatic center in Building 619 in NTC (the former Naval Training Center), which was previously a child-care center.
?Julie Cramer, spokeswoman for grassroots group Families for a Point Loma Swimming Pool, said there’s still an undeniable need for a new community aquatic center.
“In regards to the need for the pool complex, support for the project continues to be strong,” Cramer said. “We recently worked with a group of graduate students from the University of San Diego in their nonprofit leadership program.  Their project involved talking to community members about the need for a pool in Point Loma. Across all the stakeholders they talked to, there was a continued consensus of support.”
Glorioso said previously, however, that there could be a “hitch” in owning/managing any new NTC aquatic center involving lease terms.
“There’s some federal [Department of the Interior] jurisdiction over this site, so there’s some argument in terms of how this lease would be held,” he said. “It would actually be a concession agreement, not a typical property lease.”
The pool RFP states the city is seeking a concessionaire to provide an aquatic center on the former NTC site for the use and benefit of the general public.
The proposed site design calls for an aquatic center complex with a 50-meter pool, a 25-meter instruction pool and a family area with interactive water-play elements. The pool plan also includes locker rooms, offices, restrooms, storage and a concession stand.
RFPs for the proposed new Liberty Station pool were required to include a conceptual plan for the property, along with any proposed changes or additions to the existing facilities.
Among other things, proposals had to offer a preliminary site and floor plan; a program plan providing a description of planned programs/activities and/or services, including hours of operation, proposed fees and charges; a financing plan; and assurances that the applicant can provide the necessary fixtures and equipment needed to provide aquatic center services.
Concern has been expressed by some that, regardless of who ultimately builds and operates the new NTC pool, it not be big enough. Some have said it the pool should be 50 meters, not 25 meters, in order for it to be truly considered a world-class aquatic complex with the capability of hosting competitive events.
The city’s NTC Pool RFP is being handled by the city’s Real Estate Assets Division.
In 2002 the general development plan for the NTC Park was approved by the city’s Park and Recreation Department board.
The RFP states that a new NTC pool would serve the public by providing a variety of services, including swim lessons, wellness and exercise programs, competitive programs for swim and diving and water polo, and a regional center for lifeguard, water safety, kayak and scuba/snorkel training.