At a Special City Council meeting Tuesday, Shafter City Council directed city staff to keep the Shafter Aquatic Center closed during construction citing liability, extra costs, and potential delays. Shafter City Council directed City Staff to keep the aquatic center closed during the building's construction, after the city received a request from Kern High School District to use the pool for practice once it was completed. At Tuesday's meeting, city staff and city council appeared to not be on the same page as far as the estimated completion date of the aquatic center. Deputy Public Works Director Alex Gonzalez said the estimated timeline project will be done around December of next year and noted the extension is the result of various construction delays and government requirements for project approval. City Council also cited liability issues, potential delays, and additional costs as reasons for keeping the site closed. Shafter High School head swim coach Larissa Davis said as a result of the decision, the swim team will again be forced to travel to Bakersfield daily for practice. Davis also noted participation in swim in Shafter has declined severely as a result of the pool being closed for the last five years.For your convenience, the skimmable summary above is generated with the assistance of AI and fact checked by our team prior to publication. Read the full story as originally reported below.Broadcast transcript:I wish I had better news for the community, I'm Sam Hoyle, your Shafter neighborhood reporter. As construction at the Shafter Aquatic Center continues behind me at Tuesday night's special city council meeting, the city debated whether or not it would be possible to allow Shafter High School student-athletes to practice here while the building at the Shafter Aquatic Center is still being built. Unfortunately, it will be another year before students, rec swimmers, and residents alike will be able to take a dive.However, on Tuesday, there was confusion over when the aquatic center's construction will be finished. Confusion over fiscal years and calendar years led to this exchange."The pool will be ready for public swim in summer," said City Manager Lance Lippincott."Great, so those are kind of the two things -" said Mayor Chad Givens. "Wait hold on, let me correct that, Mayor, because I'm getting a nod, no. When will it be ready?" said Lippincott."The target is the end of next year," said Alex Gonzalez, Shafter's Deputy Public Works Director."I'm sorry. The end of next year?" said Givens. Deputy Public Works Director Alex Gonzalez noted the bidding process for the center's building doesnt start until later this week. City staff and council members also cited liability issues, potential delays, and extra costs associated with allowing student-athletes to practice at the site while construction is taking place and ultimately opted to keep the site closed until construction is done."General consensus amongst the five is: continue doing your work, thank you very much for where we're at, but we will not open for swim for this season.""The whole year," said Shafter City Council Member Gilbert Alvarado."Well, theoretically, now the whole year," said Givens.In talking with Shafter High School Administration, they noted they're frustrated by the decision. For Shafter High's Head Swim Coach Larissa Davis, it unfortunately is another year of struggles for her team."I do understand where they're coming from. I can logically see that, but it is setting back the program another year. This is going to be year five that the Shafter High School swim team will not be in the Shafter pool," said Davis. "The students are having to go to school until 3:30 and then they are stuck at school until 4:30, hop on a bus, and they have to go to a pool on the other side of Bakersfield. It creates a very long day. And so my numbers are dwindling. Kids aren't wanting to put in that time because it's hard, it's difficult. They're student-athletes. They're students first," said Davis.However, Davis did take a beat to commend the city and city council for their support of students. She just wishes that everything could work out for the best."I do think that the city council cares about students, and I think student-athletes. Sometimes it's harder to see that support with these programs that don't bring in the revenue and the city support as other sports. I just want to see them moving a little faster."Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere: Download Our Free App for Apple and Android Sign Up for Our Daily E-mail Newsletter Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Instagram Subscribe to Us on YouTube