City approves interim plan to keep Kurt Beyer Pool open
NORWICH – While costly repairs are inevitable down the road, the Norwich Common Council on Tuesday voted to make bare minimum fixes to the Kurt Beyer Pool that will keep the pool open for another season.
The fate of the public pool was still uncertain a month ago, when city officials were getting estimates for necessary repairs that approached $15,000 for a one-year fix. That number, however, has now been pared down to $10,000 which will cover costs to patch tile and grout, and to hire someone to maintain the pool throughout the summer.
City officials also found a solution to a labor dilemma. The job to maintain the pool requires availability to check pH levels on a daily basis, which means being in town every day over the course of the summer. Due to budget restraints, the person who held the job in previous years has been cut from the DPW staff; however, the city now has the names certified businesses willing to enter a seasonal contract.
“Our plan right now is just to get the pool operational,” said Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike. “If there is nobody in the city who can maintain the pool, there are three certified operators in the area that are available.”
Per union law, the city must make the position available to in-house employees for seven days before contracting with an outside entity.
Despite good news that the pool will be open, the city’s not out of the woods yet. If temporary fixes fail this summer, the pool will need to be closed mid-season. It’s still in need of new lining and other repairs totaling nearly $150,000 and when additional repairs to the bathhouse are factored in, the price tag increases to roughly $250,000. And that’s money the city doesn’t have on hand.
City officials also need to hire lifeguards for the season. They’re currently two months behind where they usually are this time of year, explained City Youth Bureau Director Robert Mason.
“I usually have lifegaurds hired by now,” said Mason, “I can find some reasonably quickly once I know that the decision is made to move forward.”
Council members also used the opportunity to discuss a long-term plan for the pool. For years, Norwich has depended heavily on grant monies to keep the Kurt Beyer Pool operational. Most recently, in 2012, the city received $120,000 from three local foundations to make repairs to the pool’s filtration system. With plans to seek out state grants to make repairs to the pool again next year, the trend of relying on outside funding streams seems to be continuing.
“In 2012, we had $120,000 from three foundations,” said Carnrike. “I’m very troubled that four years later, we’re talking about not opening it. We need to be better stewards going forward.”
“It’s very popular, but it’s extremely expensive,” said Ward Two Alderman Brian Doliver. “So going forward, we need to put money aside just to keep it going ... I think that what’s happened in the past is that we’ve been so concerned about opening the pool that we’ve avoided some of the bigger problems. I agree with the mayor that we need to be smarter about this.”
For now, the city’s moving ahead with its interim plan. The Common Council has approved $10,000 to be used for temporary repairs and labor expenses to keep the pool open from late June to early September.
The fate of the public pool was still uncertain a month ago, when city officials were getting estimates for necessary repairs that approached $15,000 for a one-year fix. That number, however, has now been pared down to $10,000 which will cover costs to patch tile and grout, and to hire someone to maintain the pool throughout the summer.
City officials also found a solution to a labor dilemma. The job to maintain the pool requires availability to check pH levels on a daily basis, which means being in town every day over the course of the summer. Due to budget restraints, the person who held the job in previous years has been cut from the DPW staff; however, the city now has the names certified businesses willing to enter a seasonal contract.
“Our plan right now is just to get the pool operational,” said Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike. “If there is nobody in the city who can maintain the pool, there are three certified operators in the area that are available.”
Per union law, the city must make the position available to in-house employees for seven days before contracting with an outside entity.
Despite good news that the pool will be open, the city’s not out of the woods yet. If temporary fixes fail this summer, the pool will need to be closed mid-season. It’s still in need of new lining and other repairs totaling nearly $150,000 and when additional repairs to the bathhouse are factored in, the price tag increases to roughly $250,000. And that’s money the city doesn’t have on hand.
City officials also need to hire lifeguards for the season. They’re currently two months behind where they usually are this time of year, explained City Youth Bureau Director Robert Mason.
“I usually have lifegaurds hired by now,” said Mason, “I can find some reasonably quickly once I know that the decision is made to move forward.”
Council members also used the opportunity to discuss a long-term plan for the pool. For years, Norwich has depended heavily on grant monies to keep the Kurt Beyer Pool operational. Most recently, in 2012, the city received $120,000 from three local foundations to make repairs to the pool’s filtration system. With plans to seek out state grants to make repairs to the pool again next year, the trend of relying on outside funding streams seems to be continuing.
“In 2012, we had $120,000 from three foundations,” said Carnrike. “I’m very troubled that four years later, we’re talking about not opening it. We need to be better stewards going forward.”
“It’s very popular, but it’s extremely expensive,” said Ward Two Alderman Brian Doliver. “So going forward, we need to put money aside just to keep it going ... I think that what’s happened in the past is that we’ve been so concerned about opening the pool that we’ve avoided some of the bigger problems. I agree with the mayor that we need to be smarter about this.”
For now, the city’s moving ahead with its interim plan. The Common Council has approved $10,000 to be used for temporary repairs and labor expenses to keep the pool open from late June to early September.
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