At first glance, the Covington Aquatic Center, located next to Tahoma High School, looks like a throwback to the 1970s, when it was first built. But inside, the facility has been upgraded to some of the latest, greatest and greenest technology out there.

With the replacement of the old heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system in October, city officials were able to check off a major upgrade from a laundry list of improvements, according to recreation and aquatics manager Pat Patterson.

“Covington from the very start has been committed to not just keeping the doors open, but to enhance the facility,” Patterson said. “This is a project that’s been really good. We’ve been very creative.”

There have been little additional resources available, so Covington tapped some new ones to pay for the upgrades.

That includes using pool staff to do some of the basic upgrades such as painting.

“There isn’t any additional taxpayer money (paying) for this, and that’s pretty unique,” Patterson said. “Money hasn’t come out of the city’s general fund.”

Instead, the city is working with state and county elected officials to pull together money. Funding comes from three sources – a state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development grant, money left over from a previous pool improvement project, and a tax-exempt loan financed through Cashmere Valley Bank.

Covington will also use Energy Savings Performance Contracting and a rebate from Puget Sound Energy to pay for the debt service loan. Based on current estimates, the energy savings and rebate will offset the cost of the loan, officials said.

A key point for Patterson is that during the installation of the HVAC system, the pool has stayed open.

“We could have been closed for a month,” Patterson said. “The big thing is we don’t have that revenue loss.”

Also, TAC, the contractor that installed the HVAC system, has guaranteed it will be more efficient and save the city money on utilities costs for the pool, Patterson said.

Dennis Littell, a project manager for TAC, was supervising the final work on the installation of the HVAC system on Oct. 30. It was a rainy day and there was condensation on the windows and the walls inside the building.

“The existing system was pretty much falling apart,” Littell said. “It’s pretty humid in here right now.”

The old HVAC unit was inside the building. It leaked, and a pool of water had formed on the floor below it and the system itself was rusty.

Due to its size, the new system was installed outside. The increased size is due to its air-to-air exchanger.

“It was a smart decision to put it outside so we could keep the old system functioning until we could cut it over,” he said. “We are fully expecting this to improve the energy efficiency, as well as the comfort of spectators and anyone coming in here.”

Littell said the high level of humidity that the old system couldn’t handle caused corrosion that could be pretty destructive. He said Patterson “will be happy that his tools won’t rust.”

And computers used by staff should also last longer. That will be significant because the new HVAC system can be monitored and managed from a computer in Patterson’s office and remotely, “so I can check on it from home,” he said.

“They did a little experiment overnight where they turned off the heat and the water temperature only dropped one degree,” Patterson said. “It’s going to be much more efficient.”

Prior to transferring the pool’s ownership to the city in 2004, King County put in all new overhead lighting, a boiler, two new hot water tanks and a water slide, plus a fresh exterior paint job.

In addition, the county gave the city money to help with continued improvements. In the past two years, the city has worked on re-plastering and re-tiling the entire pool area, as well as re-painting the interior, re-finishing the bulkhead, new bleachers and energy-efficient LED lights for underwater illumination.

“The city’s committed to enhance the facility, to make it more appealing and comfortable for our customers,” Patterson said. “The most remarkable thing is we’re able to do this whole project without any additional (taxpayer) funding.”

Staff writer Kris Hill can be reached at (425) 432-1209 (extension 5054) and khill@reporternewspapers.com