“While it may not be immediately obvious, Bainbridge Island’s new pool is on schedule for a November opening. About one-third of the project – the bulk of it the largely invisible pipe and electrical work – is done, including the walls for the locker rooms and the outline of the pool area itself.The 55-space parking area is now used as a staging area by the contractors.The in-ground part takes forever, pool supervisor John DeMeyer said. The walls go up quickly.We’re pleased to be moving forward with this, Bainbridge Island Park and Recreation District Director Dave Lewis added. We have a fine project team for a very complex job that involves codes, soils, piping and everything related to water. It’s not like building an office building or a house.Over the coming weeks, the new building will approach the temporary sheetrock wall at the north end of the Ray Williamson Memorial Pool facility.Rather than a ribbon cutting, islanders are likely to see someone knock out a piece of sheetrock with a ceremonial sledgehammer to link the two buildings.As now envisioned, the new pool – yet unnamed, though naming rights belong to Bainbridge Rotary – will be a true family aquatic center, Lewis said, offering something to everyone in the community from infants to senior citizens.We’ll serve more people in more ways and get more people into the facility, he said. We’ll be able to offer therapy, opportunities for playing and exercise, family fun and team fun.Moving away from the traditional rectangle filled with water, the new facility will include such features as a zero-depth entry ramp, enabling self-sufficient wheelchair access. Those using it will transfer from their own conveyances to special wheelchairs, push themselves into the pool and then slip easily out of those chairs into the water.Other planned features include:* A diving area for both high and low boards with a depth of nearly 13 feet, and four lap lanes;* A play lagoon, with a 6-inch step-down entry and gradual slope to a depth of three and a half feet;* Plumbing routed so that different parts of the pool can be heated to different temperatures;* A water slide;* A lazy river, a meandering and roughly oval-shaped passage with water jets for tubing, floating, exercise walking against the current, and swim lessons.Family-oriented features include lockers where parents of either gender can attend to the needs of very young children, and a bubble pool heated 10 degrees warmer than the regular pool, likely to become the tot pool. A sauna and steam room are also planned.Cost of the basic pool facility is funded by a voter-approved $4.5 million bond issue. Installation of many of other features will be dependent on the success of a campaign to raise another $1 million in private money.Right now we have money for the building, water space and locker rooms, Lewis said. People will be able to come in and splash around. We need to raise money for the original intention, which includes the play features, slides, lockers, landscaping, boards and other things. This is actually the direction that is becoming more and more prevalent in building new pools.Both Lewis and DeMeyer believe the added amenities are necessary to attract more users, which in turn would raise more revenue and allow the pool to support itself.Part of the money is earmarked for several projects to improve the Ray Williamson facility, which will become the primary domain of sports teams and lap swimmers. Upgrades to the Ray include locker room improvements, and better seats and lighting, and a larger lobby area.The pool itself will be deepened to six feet at the shallow end. The current high dive will be eliminated and starting blocks relocated to the shallow end to open up more deck space at the south end.A committee headed by former park board commissioner Bob Silver will launch the fundraising effort later this month. Lewis said the project campaign already has $250,000 in cash and pledges.Anyone interested in participating can contact Silver at 842-7906 or bob@thesilvercompany.com. “