Germantown Indoor Swim Center Reopens

The Germantown Indoor Swim Center has reopened after a summer of renovations, which included a million dollar project to fix a bad ceiling paint job.

The pool had been closed since May 8, timing intended to coincide with the start of the fall swim season, officials have said.

In the past, swimmers might have noticed scabs of paint in the water and poolside, which county officials said attributed to a chemical reaction from the chlorine that caused the original paint to "bubble" and slowly chip away from the galvanized steel ceiling.

Patch reported that a dispute over who was to blame for the bad paint job was resolved several months ago in a $412,500 settlement between the county and Delta Painting, a subcontractor for Forrester Construction Company, which completed the $16.6 million contract to build the swim center.

But that amount did not cover the $1,559,700 million the county said it would cost to repaint the ceiling, Patch reported. James A. Stiles, assistant chief contract administrator with the county's Department of General Services, said the project was funded for $1,142,000 in the 2010-15 capital budget.

In April, the Montgomery County Council approved a $710,000 bond request to help fund the project, bringing the total amount the county would have set aside to $1,852,000 — $1,559,700 for the company contracted to do the work and the remainder for architectural consultant costs, county staff costs and contingencies, Stiles said.

Stiles said that the county would end up paying $1,439,500, when accounting for the original contractor's payment.