NEWPORT — The city of Newport is receiving a $5.78 million settlement from the contractor that made the city’s pool that is now cracking and sinking.
Built with $7.9 million from a 2013 voter-approved bond, city officials noticed construction defects about three years after its completion. An estimated 11,000 gallons of water was escaping every day before repairs, according to a 2021 leak detection report. The report also noted the deep end of the pool was sinking.
The $7.9 million bond along with $430,000 in transient room taxes made it possible for the city to construct the aquatic center, adjoining it to the recreation center that neighbors city hall. The facility has a 25-yard, eight lane lap pool, a lazy river and a spa with an estimated 12,000 annual users including Newport High School’s swim team and swim club, according to the city.
The pool has been through several drainings and studies over the years as the city in 2023 filed suit for $2.1 million against Lake Oswego-based contractor, Pavilion, and related subcontractors. After several rounds of negotiations, the city had a settlement offer of $5.781 million, parks and recreation director Mike Cavanaugh told the city council Monday night.
The pool will need to be closed for repairs eventually, Cavanaugh told the Lincoln Chronicle, but there is no date yet when that would take place.
— Shayla Escudero/Lincoln Chronicle
