PORT ANGELES – The next steps involving an inflatable field house depend upon what the Clallam County Family YMCA proposes to the city, Richard Bonine, deputy recreation director, said Thursday.
Bonine told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission that the YMCA needs to make decisions concerning its proposals about location, funding for site work, management and transportation of “The Bubble” to Port Angeles.
Last month, the Pacific Northwest division of the U.S. Tennis Association awarded the inflatable building, which was donated by an anonymous tennis enthusiast, to the YMCA.
The YMCA agreed to submit the application, which had to come from a nonprofit organization in the Pacific Northwest.
The building was offered for free if shipping costs were paid.
It once was stored at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
But an anonymous tennis enthusiast bought the building from the university and stored it in New Jersey while trying to find a place for it in the New York metropolitan area, said City Public Works Director Glenn Cutler.
The air-supported building, dubbed “The Bubble” by its manufacturer, measures 296 feet long, 118 feet wide and 40 feet high.
It is four years old and has a 20-year life expectancy.
The building does not have a supporting frame, instead maintaining its shape using continuous low-pressure air supplied by a blower.
Parks board member Jean Hordyk asked if city staff was prepared to proceed if the YMCA recommended putting the building at Erickson Playfield, as has been proposed in the past.
Bonine said the city policies that must be followed would be the same for locating any new building.
“Put The Bubble out of your mind,” he said.
Parks board chairman Chuck Whidden asked if the YMCA was aware of the city fire chief’s determination that the fire code would prevent spectators in the building unless a sprinkler system was added.
Cutler said the YMCA board of directors and management are discussing how the organization will proceed.
The City Council has endorsed the project, but it still must go before the planning commission, parks board, City Council and the lodging tax advisory committee, since that money has been proposed as a funding source, he said.
“There’s a number of challenges,” Cutler said.
The condition of the generator that would keep the building inflated is unknown, the City Council hasn’t endorsed the proposed site plan and both the council and the parks board wondered if the building would become a drain on the city’s resources, he said.
The city won’t be proactive on the project but will respond to the YMCA’s proposal, Cutler said.
City officials haven’t spoken with YMCA officials yet, he said.
City staff can’t recommend endorsement of a proposal until one is presented to the city, Cutler said.
“These are real good questions, but there’s no real specifics,” he said.
