Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Haines residents seeking respite from the biting cold can now warm up in the public sauna, opened Dec. 23 at the Haines swimming pool.

The 7-foot by 9-foot structure took seven years, $11,000 in contributions, and $6,000 in donated labor and materials to complete, said organizer Tom Morphet.

Lutak Lumber donated the framing materials, and local carpenter John Carlson built the structure in about 20 hours, Morphet said. The Haines Borough contributed by installing a floor drain during pool renovations this winter.

The idea, hatched by Darsie Culbeck in 2013 to promote pool usership, was long-delayed over negotiations on location and dimensions, and was ultimately held until the completion of pool renovations late last year.

"I was getting discouraged because of the years and years it took," said early-bird swimmer and contributor to the fund Suzanne Vuillet-Smith. Now, she enjoys the sauna three times a week after her morning workout.

"Swimming is an individual sport. Now, when I'm done with my laps, my fellow swimmers and I all get in that sauna together," she said. "It's kind of like being stuck on the ferry. It feels like you've got time, and there's nothing else you can do except talk in there."

Other swimmers said the new facility will encourage them to up their pool use.

"The cedar just smells so good, and I really like the window in the door," Ellen Larson said. "It'll be more likely that I'll go (to the pool) if I can go in the sauna at the end of the swim."

Saunas have proven health benefits including lowering blood pressure, improving respiratory function and reducing stress, according to research published in the American Academy of Neurology journal. Morphet said harsh winters in Haines might magnify the benefits of a sauna.

"Anybody who has trouble with the long Alaska winter I think can stand to benefit from ten minutes in a sauna a couple times a week," he said.

Residents can access the sauna, which is on deck at the pool, with a $5.50 swim fee.

Morphet estimates the structure can fit "seven strangers or 11 friends at one time."

Pool repair delayed

A leaky liner persists in the pool, despite the contractor's effort to locate and fix the drip last month.

In mid-December, a professional leak detector was sent to Haines for four days to plug an apparent leak in the liner. In late October, RenoSys, an Indiana-based contractor, installed a new liner as part of its pool renovation contract with the borough. Since, an unidentifiable leak has dripped between five and 15 gallons of water a day onto the timber frame understory in the facility's basement.

"The whole pool is supported on a timber frame that's been in there for 40 years and of course it's dry as a bone," Haines' public facilities director Ed Coffland said. "Our concern is we'll have accelerated decay if this were to go on for a very long period of time."

John Wainscott, hired by RenoSys last month, attempted to locate the drips without draining the pool (because of swim team practice). Wainscott added silicone caulking to potential problem areas by the pool steps and the main drain, but dripping continued, according to Coffland.

In a teleconference on Tuesday, contractors and borough staff decided to postpone additional work to a low-impact time. A tentative date of June 1 is set, Coffland said.