Pleasantville Forced to Replace Village Pool Liner for Next Summer
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
The Village of Pleasantville will be spending $178,000 on a new pool liner that was destroyed heavy rains flooded the area late last month.
Currently the pool is empty but needs to be filled with water during the winter to hold the liner in place and prevent the pool foundation under the liner from cracking.
Superintendent of Parks & Recreation Michael Newman said last week the liner is no longer repairable.
“Damage was done to several aspects of the pool facility,” Newman told the Village Board at its Oct. 23 work session. “Of more concern is leaking under the liner this winter that could freeze and cause cracking to the subsurface. We want to replace the liner to insure we do not have any further damage.”
The last time the pool liner was replaced was in 2007 for over $100,000.
The reconstruction of the new village pool is slated to start next fall, in time for the 2025 swim season. When work starts on the new pool, the new liner will be removed and replaced by a new pool liner to fit the reconstructed pool.
The board’s decision to replace the pool liner with a new one was not an easy one.
“We have the unhappy circumstance of spending some $200,000 to replace the liner and make other repairs, some of which may be reimbursed by insurance,” said Mayor Peter Scherer. “Then we have to rip it (the new liner) all out.”
The board considered pushing up the date to work on the new facility, but given the timeline of pending required permits it would mean the pool would be closed next summer.
“It would be a big disappointment not to have a pool this summer,” said Scherer.
“It means a significantly diminished summer camp that uses the pool two and three times a week. There would also be no swim team, and the Mount Pleasant pool may not accommodate our entire membership.”
Also attending the work session was Troy Tassier and Jim Kennedy who lead the Village Pool Task Force. Kennedy asked whether minimal repairs could be done to the existing liner just for next summer.
Newman said due to the age of the current liner, the old patches will no longer fuse to the concrete and the liner wouldn’t hold water. When the liner is removed there could be other damage caused by groundwater seeping through the liner, which may cause the shell to crack and require repairs.
Two vendors have given estimates of about $178,000 to replace the liner. At the regular meeting following the work session, the board voted unanimously on a resolution authorizing the expenditure.
According to Village Administrator Eric Morrissey, the village is likely to pursue short-term financing such as a bond anticipation note to pay for the liner and other work, it it’s needed.
“We’ll also see what we can get from insurance reimbursement and from federal disaster funds that might come down the pike,” Morrissey said. “Other funding for the liner replacement could be offset by surplus revenue from summer pool memberships, which will also determine if we have to go to some type of long-term financing.”
The new pool will be larger than the current pool by about 20 percent, measuring 11,017 square feet. The plan includes a zero-entry area, additional lap lanes, a water slide and possibly a diving board. The kiddie pool will include water geysers.
Original estimates were about $3 million but last year the anticipated cost spiked to $4,786,000 reflecting the rising cost of materials.
An additional $1.5 million will be for flood mitigation needed to protect the site and offset future flooding impacts that come from the nearby Nannahagen Pond and surrounding waterways.
Abby is a local journalist who has reported on breaking news for more than 20 years. She currently covers community issues in The Examiner as a full-time reporter and has written for the paper since its inception in 2007. Read more from Abby’s editor-author bio here. Read Abbys’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/ab-lub2019/
