Ames city staff will move forward with staining the outside of the Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center even though the contractor says it may sue the city for $52,000 over the fix.

The Ames City Council approved the staining at its Tuesday meeting. Staff reported a test patch of stain looked good and recommended covering the rest of the building’s gray concrete panels, according to a memo from Keith Abraham, the parks and recreation director.

The panels have looked splotchy since the pool opened. City staff first raised concerns about the uneven, mottled color at an October 2025 council meeting.

Why blotchy panels?

The building’s outside walls are made of wavy, pre-cast concrete panels. Soon after construction, the panels came out blotchy instead of a smooth, even gray.

Engineers looked at eight possible causes. Those included problems with the coloring mixed into the concrete, the way the panels were washed and even changes in how cement is made these days.

The city hired an outside concrete expert to study the problem. That expert agreed with the project architect, RDG, and the builder, Story Construction, that the city had two choices. It could wait and hope the blotches faded over time, or it could pay to stain the panels a darker color to hide the flaws.

Waiting has not worked. Experts predicted the mottling would fade, but it has not.

RDG said the real problem is that the contractor, Core, did not add the color mix required by the project’s building plans. Core never submitted a required design plan for the concrete, so the mistake was never caught in time, according to RDG.

Contractor disagrees, threatens lawsuit

Core disagrees that it did anything wrong. In March, the company’s lawyer sent the city a letter denying that the panels fail to meet the building specifications. The letter did not include any proof to back up that claim.

Even so, Core agreed to do the staining. The company said it would do the work under protest and warned it may seek payment later for its costs and lost time. Core estimated its claim could reach about $52,000, though the final number could be higher or lower.

Workers tested three stain colors on a sample panel in March. City staff picked Rushing River, the lightest shade and the one originally planned for the building. The stain, called NawTone-K, soaks into the concrete and resists sun damage and weather. It comes with a 25-year warranty on the material itself, though Core would not offer a matching warranty for the labor.

In other business

• Plug pulled on public TV channels: City staff asked the council to give up Mediacom channel 12, the government access channel, and channel 16, the public access channel. The move is in response to changing trends in cable and digital viewing.
• Building repair help: The council approved more than $137,000 in matching grants through the downtown facade grant program, which has been around since 2000. The projects will help improve the buildings at 118 Main St. (Ann’s Insurance); 413 Kellogg Ave. (10Fold Architecture + Engineering); 236 Main St. (Gilger Designs); 203, 205 and 207 Main St. (Dog-Eared Books); and 226 and 228 Main St. (Moorman Clothiers).
• Executive Session: The council went into closed session “to discuss matters presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent.”
• Next time: The council will meet in regular session at 6 p.m. July 28 at Ames City Hall, 515 Clark Ave.