Recap of the August 20th Capital Budget Hearing

The public hearing went well last night. We had a great turnout. It was a very positive atmosphere. Thank you so much for coming to show your support and thank you to those who spoke in favor of the pool.

Highlights of the evening
Mr. Wetmore who co-chaired the Pool Evaluation Committee addressed many of the concerns of those in the audience who are still making up their minds. He has put together a business report that will be available online, at the Town Library and the Senior Center. He reminded us that the pool is not a business but a municipal entity. He gave us the reality-check figure that the solution to the pool would cost the average homeowner a paltry $2.60 per year. $2 and 60 cents for a solution. He talked of community and how he doesn't use the youth center, have kids in school, use the library and the senior center but pays for it as part of the community "cover charge" as it were. We all pay for roads we don't use and venues we don't attend. It is disingenuous to single out the pool. He commended the volunteerism of the Evaluation Committee and supporters and urged us all to work hard to get the solution passed. 

 Robyn Housemann gave a stirring account of the health challenges facing our society and contrasted them with the benefits of using a pool. She spoke of seniors who often can only exercise in water because of mobility issues. She spoke of the advantages of swimming with regard to heart disease, obesity and diabetes. She urged Cheshire to continue its record of encouragement of activity as evidenced by the existence of the linear trail, open space and Park and Rec programs. She called the pool a "social asset" outlining the mental health benefits of going as a family to swim, in a group to exercise, or individually improving your health.

 The swim teams were represented by Greg Han who told of his personal journey from child to young man and the life lessons he took from swim team's "intense" regimen. He credited his swim achievements with his acceptance to Amherst. Paul Robinson found out from council that there is 275K from insurance regarding the bubble collapse and was assured that it would be spent on pool-related expenses. Denise Bishop, a swimmer's mother, told of her conversion from a parent dropping her child at the pool for practice to an active participant in all the activities that the pool has to offer. She pleaded with the Council to vote for the solution.

 Matt Levine, also on the Evaluation Committee, reminded us all that this is a "community" pool. It serves young and old of all abilities. He noted that the pool was the site of the National Dual Meet record and was a huge source of pride then and should continue to be so. He promised the Council that we would work tirelessly to get the solution passed in referendum.

The Council now takes all these comments into consideration and on the 27th (Tuesday) will vote on the items to be included in the Capital Budget. We will know on Tuesday if the solution will go to referendum in November. Our work then will be getting the information to all our friends and neighbors and making sure that they get out to Vote Yes to the Pool solution. We will be relying heavily on each and every one of the Friends of Cheshire Pool to secure a yes vote. Judging by the performance of everyone so far we are well up to that task !

August 20th meeting- Critical that you attend

We have two very important meetings this month for you to attend.

It is absolutely critical that every supporter attend the Capital Budget meeting on the 20th. The Council will take comments and questions from the public on the Pool Evaluation Committee's choice of the year-round steel tension structure. This is the mid-tier option of 3.2 million dollars. It is designed for a snow load of 50" and can withstand 130mph winds. It will vastly reduce the operating costs of the pool. It is a very good choice.

The meeting is on Tuesday, the 20th at 7.30pm in the Town Hall. We need each and every one of you, your family and your neighbor. We expect this to reach standing room only quickly as the anti-pool contingent are well mobilized this year. Come early and secure seating.

We will also ask you to attend the final vote on the 27th.

There will be several items on the agenda. We ask that you speak at this meeting letting the Council know how much of an asset the pool is to the town, to all our citizens young and old.

 

Our pool benefits our seniors by providing a safe and accessible place to keep fit and mobile.

It benefits those with injuries, allowing them a place to rehab long after insurance stops paying for physical therapy.

It helps those with special needs and sensory issues find a safe and comforting form of physical activity.

It provides swimming lessons that benefit a person throughout their lives.

It provides a place for a family to have fun together in a healthful environment.

It provides a venue for our young children and teens to become disciplined, fit community members  through grueling training that provides lessons for life.

It is a place for fun, alternative, cardiovascular activities including the exuberance of Aqua Zumba, the intensity of underwater hockey and water polo, and the magical experience of scuba and generating revenue along the way.

It acts as a counter to many of our society's challenges; obesity, disenfranchisement of youth, senior loneliness and the long, cold, cabin-fever winters of Connecticut.

 

It is one of the few Town Assets that everyone in Cheshire can avail of, regardless of age or ability. It deserves our support.

Asking for help

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the public information session on June 27^th a success.  I think we all got a glimpse of what we are up against. To get facts out to all the public will take a huge effort but we are up to the challenge.

Now it is necessary to raise funds to wage an effective large scale campaign for a year round pool.  We are asking that you please make a donation so that we can share the facts with more members of our community.   Funds raised will be used to purchase advertisements and signs, to produce information brochures, and to otherwise inform the public and obtain support for the pool. Any amount will help.

For this to be a successful campaign, it is critical that we have your financial support.

Please donate today.  Send personal checks* made payable to Friends of Cheshire Pool to: P.O. Box 238, Cheshire, CT 06410 or by visiting www.Friendsofcheshirepool.org and clicking on the Donate tab.

Thank you for your support,

Friends of Cheshire Pool

 

Note:  On July 23, 2013 the Pool Evaluation Committee will make its recommendation to the Town Council.   We need to secure the vote from the Town Council to take the recommended structure option to referendum in November.   Please mark your calendars and attend. 

 

* State law prohibits contributions from business entities.

Town Hall, Pool Information Session Thursday June 27th 7.30

3 options to be discussed at Thursday's meeting. The article below gives an overview of each of these options. Each and every one of us will need to attend the Information Session on Thursday evening at Town Hall. Bring your neighbors. Car pool. Ask your questions. Wear an item of swim apparel (like goggles) Support a year round, viable solution.

http://cheshire.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/committee-ready-to-present-pool-alternatives?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001&evar4=picks-1-post

Remember - Thursday, June 27th at 7.30. Town Hall. Wear something pool related to show your support (goggles, swim shirt, go nuts !!!!)

Town of Cheshire Pool Evalution Committee Public Information session. Call and email your Town Council members.

The bubble collapse this past winter at the Cheshire Community Pool was very disappointing to all those who use and enjoy the pool all year round.  This unfortunate event obviously raises concerns about the long term future of the pool.  We, as a community, are being called to task and we, as the Friends of Cheshire Pool, will rise to the occasion to ensure that our pool remain a community resource.  We will certainly face challenges moving forward.  But let there be no doubt that we will meet these challenges because we all share a vision of a pool that is a permanent fixture in this community.

Maybe it is fitting that the winter storm that brought down our home pool was named NEMO.  After all Nemo is the name of the children’s movie where the father, Marlin, is totally committed to swimming as far and as long as possible to bring his son home.  We will have to show that same endurance to make our voices heard and to let the town council and the community know that the pool deserves a permanent solution.  In this vein, the loss of the bubble gives us an opportunity to achieve a solution that will be more impressive and reliable, as well as sustainable for the future of our town.

We will wage a positive campaign to make sure Cheshire is informed about all of the great qualities that a year round pool brings to our community.  Together we can make this happen.

The Town of Cheshire Pool Evaluation Committee is planning to have a public information meeting on Thursday, June 27, 2013 at Town Hall.  This meeting is intended to inform the public about the remaining three options-- a new modified bubble; a steel tension membrane structure; and an open/air (greenhouse) type structure.  After this public information session, the Pool Evaluation Committee will then decide on the final recommendation it will make to the Town Council.  The Town Council will meet on July 23, 2013 for a vote on whether that option will be the subject of a referendum to be on the ballot in the November election.

Leading up to these meetings it is imperative that everyone call and email all members of the Town Council to make sure they understand that a majority of the town supports a year round solution for the pool. 

Here are addresses, phone numbers and emails for the Town Council members:

Patti Flynn-Harris	360 Carlton Dr.	272-1392	pafh@aol.com
Michael Ecke Sylvia Nichols	36 Williamsburg	272-1351	michaele584@aol.com
	100 Barytes Dr.	272-1286	sspn13@cox.net
James Sima	180 Birch Dr.	271-0467	jrs7@att.net
Timothy Slocum*	1285 Lilac Ct.	272-0652	tslocum@snet.net
David Schrumm	369 Sir Walter Dr.	272-2689	dsschrumm@cox.net
Thomas Ruocco	6 North Pond	272-8135	tomruocco@snet.net
Andrew Falvey	379 Peck La.	272-8305	aafalvey@cox.net
Peter Talbot	1271 Lilac Ct.	439-3833	petert111@cox.net

It is also incredibly important that we all attend the public information session on June 27, 2013 and the Town Council meeting on July 23, 2013.  Please mark these dates on your calendars.  We want to make sure that the Town Council understands how important this is to the community by having a very large crowd in attendance at these meetings.

We are working and will continue to work very hard to get the word out and inform the public.  Please go to www.friendsofcheshirepool.org and Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FriendsOfCheshirePool to stay updated on important meetings, ways to get involved and fundraising.  If you have any questions you can always email  us at friendsofcheshirepool@gmail.com.

We believe that we there will be a positive outcome in November if we all come together now.

Important Dates, Town Hall meetings

 SAVE THE DATES

Here are the two critical dates for all of us Friends of Cheshire Pool to show our support of a viable, year-round structure .

Town Hall meetings.
June 27, 2013 - Pool Evaluation Committee - Public Information Session
July 23, 2013 - Town Council Meeting - Pool decision

... We need to be a visible, vocal majority.

We will post reminders as we near the dates but pencil this in for now. We are looking forward to meeting you all in person.

Bake Sale at Bagelicious 8th and 9th June.

Please Share- Bake Sale

Friends of Cheshire Pool is running a Bake Sale this Saturday 8th, and Sunday the 9th outside Bagelicious.

In the past the anti-pool people have been extremely  vocal.  In order to get the true facts about the pool out we will need to make posters, run informational ads, wear tshirts and use all the media tools we possibly can. Our voices must be heard.

A small donation for a brownie or a large donation for a favorite bread will help us raise funds to spread the word. Email friendsofcheshirepool@gmail.com if you'd like to donate baked goods.

We have some very accomplished bakers in this group. Drop by to chat with them. Buy a delicious cookie, and then go to the pool to burn off the caloriesJ

Thank you again for supporting Friends of Cheshire Pool.

Rehab augmentation for our community.

 

 

My son's Cheshire lacrosse coach Mike Weed recently had a stroke at the frighteningly young age of 37. He is making slow but steady progress. He begins aqua therapy this week at his rehab facility..

It is important to realize that our pool... offers a critical resource to those rehabbing from strokes and injuries. It is accessible for those with physical challenges. It has a chair lift and is fully accessible. When insurance stops paying for physical therapy a person may continue their progress by using our pool. We are incredibly fortunate to have that option. It's a godsend to many.

Thank you for supporting out Community effort. Please support the Weed family too on Father's Day Weekend. They are a wonderful Cheshire family who have given a lot to our town. https://www.facebook.com/events/602608769764029

OPTION 1 EXAMINED.

Bursting bubbles- understanding the past to make better decisions in the future.

The Cheshire Pool Evaluation Committee is tasked with examining all options with regard to the pool. Some may be less popular than others but ALL possibilities, in the interest of fairness, have to be examined. That includes the reinstalling an air supported bubble. Here is a snapshot of examining this option.

Sheila Adams, Aquatic Director, brought a wealth of information and experience to the meeting of 5.2.2013. Ms. Adams provided an overview of its recent history, structure and performance and gave the public a good starting point on which to analyze solutions.

This January during the record-setting blizzard 6 bubbles came down in Connecticut. Cheshire's bubble was the only one totaled. All the others are back up and operational. Cheshire's is not the biggest bubble, nor is it the only pool facility that was impacted by this incredible storm.  It appears that it's the bubble’s inner support structure that was at fault. The giant stanchions, that are unique to the Cheshire pool punctured the bubble rendering it beyond repair.

 Cheshire, by virtue of its inner support structure,  cannot drop the bubble in the face of a storm.  It was totaled as soon as it came down. "The biggest issue is once the dome comes down the building official deems the building to be condemned. No one can go out on deck; the support structure cannot be removed and the bubble must be cut down". "Ms. Adams explained that if we did not have the current interior support structure, the bubble could have been repaired- both times." (minutes 5.2.13). Two of the six collapsed bubbles in the state were taken down intentionally (Northford and Winsted). Cheshire cannot do this because of the unique support structure inside the building.

The committee examined the support structures of Wilton, Madison, Winsted, Northford and Tolland. Those without the large wire stanchions that are at the Cheshire Community Pool, did well. Building codes dictated the engineering design of the Cheshire pool. Danbury has a larger bubble without stanchions. It's not our size that's the issue. It's that we did not have an exemption to the code.

Ms. Adams consulted the manufacturer of the bubble during the storm and was told that without the large support columns they would have advised the staff at CCP to drop the bubble to the ground thus avoiding the collapse. Sheila also noted that the bubble made it through the hurricane.

After this most recent failure of the bubble Ms. Adams sought a variance from the code requirements to prevent this situation in the future.  On May  9 "Sheila Adams noted that a modification was received from the State for the approval to remove the interior support structure from the bubble. By allowing this modification the bubble will have to have a redundant backup blower to back up the main blower and must keep the bubble at least 7 feet off the pool surface for 20 minutes per the building code. A generator would be required for the pool blower only".

Friends of Cheshire Pool supports a VIABLE year-round solution. We eagerly look to examine the other options being pondered. Again we reiterate that the common consensus in our town is that the pool is a good thing. The Evaluation Committee must put forth a viable option for Cheshire's Community Pool.

What to do about the Pool? The Process of Decision.

 

Some thoughts, and some facts from the  5.2.2013 Cheshire Community Pool Meeting.

 

The sense here in town is that the pool is a good thing. The overwhelming wish is to get it right this time. The users of the town pool include the very young and the very seasoned, the uber-fit,  the rehabbing injured, the differently abled, the exuberant Zumba ladies, the sugar-fueled birthday party goers,  the hard-working high school teams, the scuba crew,  the frazzled families and their friends. The membership and usage at the pool has grown in leaps and bounds. It is a popular resource and it's absence for a few months was a huge hole in the daily lives of many in our community.

 

Our pool is an oddity in terms of its standing as an asset in the town. There is no other service that is a standalone entity on the town's budget. The WPCA would be the closest and even that does not reflect the principal and interest on any of the costs of the debt related to it. Other town facilities fall under Public Works for building maintenance and repair. Not the pool. All these costs come out of the pool's own budget.  (minutes of 5.2.13 CCP Committee Meeting) When we think of assets like the Senior Center and the Library we cannot compare apples to apples. The pool simply costs less than those.

A shocking number came out of the very first meeting of the CCP Committee Meeting. Ms. Adams, The Aquatic Director, stated that the pool brings in $600,000 annually in revenue. There is no way, even if we all forgot our library books that other assets could generate that kind of revenue.

 

We also forget that our swim teams host huge State Championship meets several times a year. As well as attracting in swimmers to the local team on a regular basis they also bring in hundreds of carloads of hungry swimmers and their families who stay in the area for up to four days at a time for large meets. A captive audience, a spending boom of carb-gobblers from the entire state. Our economically hammered Main Street needs all the customers it can capture.

 

The committee is tasked with coming up with a viable solution. Taken directly from the minutes " The committee must make a decision on a design to be recommended and provide support and evaluation of the pros and cons of its selection, along with the pros and cons of the design which was not selected, all the financial aspects, cost of structure, cost of operation, and life cycle costs." As well as being a very long run on sentence that is also a very tall order for a motley crue of members. The committee is made up of town council members, pool users from different groups, public works, town citizens who are skeptical, and supporters. It is wonderful to have the skeptics. It keeps everyone thinking from all points of view. Some of the more skeptical were surprised by the figures, the structural challenges and the history of the pool. Some admitted that they had preconceived notions that had been blown away by the meeting. It was a great venue for all concerns to be aired.

 

The committee outlined in general the various options that they would be exploring. That, Pool Friends,  is our next installment.