NORWICH – This summer, city officials will take the first steps of a long research process that will sway their decision regarding a potential user fee at Kurt Beyer Pool.
Council members are currently discussing the possibility of an individual user fee or a season-long membership fee for residents who use the pool, which would help offset future maintenance and repair costs. According to Bob Mason, coordinator for the Norwich Youth Bureau, no fees will be implemented this year. However, this year will begin investigation of possible charges in the 2013 swim season.
“Basically, we’re in the research process and then we’ll take a look to see how it might work,” said City Mayor Joseph Maiurano. “Once we get through the research process and have some facts, that’s how we’ll make our decision.”
Research will be collected directly from people who use the pool this summer, Mason explained. A survey of swimmers will give city officials a better understanding of how many people use the pool, how often they use it, and whether they are a resident of the city or a nearby township – all factors that will determine the potential of a user fee next year.
“It’s not something that anybody wants to see but unfortunately, the way things are financially, it’s something we may need to do,” according to Mason. “We just ask that people are understanding in the process.”
Several other nearby municipalities have been forced to charge a minimal fee to offset some of the costs of a pool, Mason went on to say. He has been in constant touch with officials from the City of Oneonta, which is undergoing similar concerns with its public pool. What Oneonta decides to do may become a model for Norwich, he said.
If the council decides that a fee should be implemented in the 2013 season, Maiurano assured that it “would be minimal” and would be only enough to offset a few of the costs.
In recent years, the Kurt Beyer Pool has drawn in as many as 21,000 swimmers in 2004 and less than 12,000 in 2010, but it’s impossible to know how many of those numbers are repeat swimmers.
“If anything is charged, it won’t pay for everything, but it will help,” Mason said. Potential fees in other municipalities can range from $1 per use to $100 for a season pass. “Whatever would be decided has to reasonable for the community,” he added.
Another potential but less likely possibility to help with costs is a charge to surrounding municipalities that also utilize the city’s pool. The City Youth Bureau offers free services (including aquatic programming) to youth in the city and the townships of Norwich, North Norwich, Plymouth, Preston and Pharsalia.
Said Maiurano, “It’s one of the things that we would research but in the end, I think the pool is the city’s responsibility.”
“I would rather see the pool open with a little fee than not open at all,” he added.
Renovations began at Kurt Beyer pool in March, after the pool was out of commission for a year. So far, work is on track and no unforseen damage has been accounted for, said Maiurano. Plans are to have the pool up and running by mid to late June.
“Everything looks like it’s on schedule,” the mayor said. “It should be open on time.”