The Haines Pool sauna project didn’t turn out as planned. It turned out much better.
Understanding the history of this project is important to knowing how Haines works and to learning how citizens can advance projects in our community even in the face of indifference or opposition from powers-that-be.
The sauna was proposed by former borough consultant Darsie Culbeck in 2013. Culbeck estimated that for $5,000-$7,000 the pool could have a sauna, essentially a small room with a heater inside it.
(Used as therapy since ancient times, saunas are believed to improve heart health and boost the immune system. In northern climates, they also provide respite from winter’s damp and chill. Many Alaska towns with swimming pools have them.)
The assembly wasn’t keen to the idea – one assembly member even mistook the sauna for a Jacuzzi bath – but it met Culbeck half way: If sauna supporters paid for construction of the sauna, the borough would heat it.
Taking up the assembly’s challenge, supporters opened a bank account and started a campaign to raise $10,000 in construction money. From a list of people at a town health fair who signed up, Friends of the Sauna was born. A bank account was opened and donations started flowing in, reaching $10,000 by 2016.
The first hurdle was where at the pool to locate the sauna, a room seven feet wide and eight feet long. Culbeck’s proposed location – adjacent to the lifeguard office on the pool’s south side – didn’t get far. That area already was used by the Haines Dolphins swim team as a timer’s station during club meets.
On the advice of borough officials who said the pool’s west end would be cheapest for running wiring, in December 2016 sauna supporters settled on a location inside a utility room between the men’s and women’s locker rooms. Draftsman Larry Larson drew up plans, but the location didn’t work for the Dolphins, who used the area to serve refreshments during meets.
At that juncture, supporters agreed to a request by borough facilities manager Brad Ryan to take over the project. Ryan proposed locating the sauna in the triangle corner of the pool’s east-side atrium, but his design couldn’t get fire marshal approval due to an access issue.
At a meeting of the Friends of the Pool, Haines Dolphins volunteer coach Jim Green suggested using Culbeck’s original location, perhaps with a design that would allow swim meet timers to sit inside the sauna during meets. Borough officials modified Green’s idea, moving swim meet timers to a location on the sauna’s roof – the same spot they previously occupied, only eight feet higher.
There was one hitch: By the time the third location was finalized, the borough was moving ahead with its $500,000 pool remodel, including new decks, gutters and locker rooms, a suite of improvements that was long overdue. Borough officials wanted the sauna atop the new deck, necessitating a nearly one-year delay in construction.
By December 2019, pool renovation was mostly complete and sauna construction could move ahead. The Friends of the Sauna always assumed that building the sauna – putting together a pre-fabricated kit, including building its frame – would be done by volunteers. Also, there was no choice as the cost of the kit ($6,700, including transportation) and electrical work ($3,500) had depleted construction funds.
Further, the borough insisted that only licensed contractors be involved in construction.
Fortunately, master woodworker John Carlson of Haines, a longtime pool user and supporter, stepped up to lead the work as a volunteer. Lutak Lumber donated sheetrock and lumber for the frame. Carlson’s involvement drew in other pros, finishing work by Christmas Eve, a beautiful holiday present to our town.
The completed sauna is nicer than anything supporters anticipated. Its door-sized front window looks out through the pool atrium to mountains and sky. A borough-installed floor drain makes the facility easy to clean. Carlson’s skills as carpenter are evident throughout.
As expected, the sauna is improving the lives of residents and increasing pool use. Last Saturday, three Canadian visitors came to the pool just to use the sauna, saying they’d heard about it through social media.
Citizens with ideas for town improvements might benefit from several lessons of the sauna project, including to:
- Build and demonstrate community support. Ten thousand dollars in community donations was our proof that the town wanted a sauna.
- Be patient. Change is slow, especially in small-town Alaska. New ideas take time to gain acceptance and bear fruit.
- Work with related, existing groups to push your project ahead.
- Demonstrate to decision-makers that your group is flexible and reasonable, but also focused and resolute.
- Don’t underestimate the willingness of your supporters to help out.
In materials and labor, including volunteers, the pool sauna cost about $18,500 and took seven years to complete. That’s a long wait and a lot of money, but there’s no arguing with the final product.