WOODLAND HILLS : Plasterers Dive Into College Pool Project

More than 30 volunteers spackled their way into trivia lore at the Pierce College swimming pool Monday, undertaking what was billed as the most populous pool resurfacing effort in United States history.

To the sound of a small radio sputtering out oldies and the rhythmic scraping of trowels, crews from more than a dozen pool plastering companies from as far away as Las Vegas smoothed a new surface onto the impoverished community college’s pool.

The volunteer effort involved the largest known number of plasterers on a single job, said Lyn Paymer, executive director of the National Plasterers Council, the only national association of its kind.

“We weren’t doing it to break any records,” Paymer said. “It just worked out that way.”

That the T-shirted crews--usually fierce competitors--were able to labor side-by-side was a step forward for camaraderie among pool plasterers too, said Jeff Kerber of Jeff Kerber Pool Plastering.

“A couple of years ago, a lot of these guys probably wouldn’t have even talked to each other,” Kerber said. “It’s a real cutthroat industry. But it’s great to see them get together to do a volunteer thing, help somebody out and maybe get to know each other a little.”

The donation of more than $20,000 in supplies and labor may also improve the rapport between swimmers and Pierce administrators, who last year threatened to close the 16-year-old pool because of a lack of repair funds.

The possible closure of the West Valley’s premiere outdoor swimming venue prompted pool users to form Friends of Pierce Pool, which raises money for pool upkeep and, last fall, secured the donation of a water heater from a local business.

Although the walls and floor of the 10-lane pool were pockmarked, no public funds had been set aside to replaster them.

“I’d be swimming along and looking down at whole chunks missing from the bottom of the pool,” said Harald Johnson, president of the group. “We hope that fixing it will encourage the administration to keep the pool open.”

Johnson said the plasterers council approached his group about the possibility of donating the work, to the delight of swimmers and Pierce facilities managers alike.

“I don’t know where we would have found 20 cents for this job,” said pool manager Eldin Onsgard. “You don’t know how happy this makes those of us who care about the pool.”