Repercussions

Having to shuttle High School teams to training venues while the pool is closed will take anywhere from $60,000 -$70,000 annually from the EDUCATION budget.

 

Vote YES to the Pool Solution to keep the kids in town.

Vote Yes for the Pool Solution - The Fall Festival recap (with photos)

The Fall Festival offered us our first major opportunity to meet with our fellow Cheshire citizens to explain the solution to the Community Pool.

We had a scaled model of the proposed solution and we were able to show how the sides come off in the Summer allowing for a swimming AND sun worship. Our video showed the virtual tour of the facility. We were able to explain that the structure can sustain 130 mph winds and can support a snow load of 50lbs per square foot. We met a woman recently moved from Wisconsin who has been in these structures all over her state and who, as a new Cheshire resident, is voting YES with great confidence and experience.

We were able to tell them about similar steel tension structure pools in Mississippi who survived Hurricane Katrina, and Michigan pools that get major lake-effect snows. We talked about the Denver Airport being a similar structure.
People were delighted to hear about getting reduced operating costs by voting YES. We talked about the solution being able to be insulated to R35. We explained that the people who vote no to the solution are actually endorsing the current pool situation.

We talked about the cost being a mere $2.60 per tax HOUSEHOLD per YEAR. Most had us repeat TWO DOLLARS AND SIXTY CENTS PER HOUSEHOLD PER YEAR. That's it? That's it!.

We had copies of the business plan and showed people how the pool generated 600,000 dollars in revenue being open 70% of the year and we marveled at what could happen when it is open 100% of the year.

So many people stopped by or talked to us in the crowd. There were seniors who take aquafitness classes, little kids just learning to swim, families who go there all the time, the fit and healthy (and incredibly polite) swim team children young and old, medical professionals who feel strongly that it's a great health asset to the town, and realtors and homeowners who know that it keeps property prices up. All were impressed by the steel tension structure and look forward to year-round swimming. There were those who don't go to the pool but understand that just like the Linear trail, the Youth and Senior Centers, the Library and our schools that the Community Pool is a true "Community" asset that only adds value to our shared Cheshire experience.

We met so many people. We were able to do exactly what we set out to do - get information to the voters so they can make an informed decision. We are very confident that with that information they will vote YES to the Pool Solution.

Here are some photos to give you an idea of our day. If you have any shots of our volunteers do feel free to share.

Every hour on the hour a new team of us went out in the crowd, armed with information-packed brochures, recyclable grocery bags with our info, and answers to questions. We had some pretty neat tshirts too.

We had some familiar faces at the booth

It was great to have a model to explain how the solution works

We had the opportunity to speak to many, many members of the Community who stopped by.

We could tell by all the people in the crowd toting the blue bags and wearing "Vote Yes to the Pool solution" stickers that our workers were very, very successful! Thank you to our volunteers and supporters for a terrific day. Please continue your good work by talking with your neighbors and friends and getting everyone to Vote YES to the Pool Solution.

Fall Festival Booth September 7th

Our big event this weekend is the Fall Festival. Friends of Cheshire Pool will be there ! We have a great booth location near the moon bounce We have ample brochures to hand out and some nice takeaways including recyclable grocery bags and stickers. In addition we have some good 'show and tell' features- a scaled model of the pool solution, and hopefully, with a crack audio-visual team, a virtual tour of the Pool Solution airing on a loop on a projector. Not too shabby considering the Council only sent this to referendum on August 27th Our group has been working really hard to be ready for this. The Fall Festival is a major community event. We have an opportunity to speak to many other booths, businesses, sports and civic groups, and get a chance to reach a true cross-section of the community. It's a great opportunity to get the facts to the voters. Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday !

3D tour of the Pool Solution, with the sides open for Summer use.

Feel free to share. Here is a 3D tour of the pool with the sides up ie our Summer option. The picnic tables will also be outside, and as you can see the green area is preserved.

Virtual Tour of the Pool Solution

Hot on the heels of the images of the pool in Summer yesterday here is a 3D tour of the Solution to the Pool with the sides closed. Take a look. It's very impressive.
Click here for the video

College students - Take care of your absentee ballots today

Attention all college students.!

Take care of your absentee ballot today. You will be able to vote YES in November.  Here is the link explaining the process
http://www.cheshirect.org/voting-and-elections/absentee-ballots

From the town website -

ABSENTEE BALLOTS

The process for voting by absentee ballot includes qualifying, applying, obtaining the ballot and returning the ballot.

To QUALIFY for voting by absentee ballot, an elector must be unable to appear at the required polling place during all hours of voting for one of the following reasons:

• Active service in the armed forces of the United States
• Absence from the town of voting residence during all of the hours of voting
• Illness
• Physical disability
• Religious tenets which forbid secular activity on the day of the election;
• Duties as an election official at a polling place other than his/her own during all of the hours of voting

 
To obtain an absentee ballot, an elector must first submit an application with an original signature to the Town Clerk's office by mail or in person.  Absentee ballot applications are available from the Connecticut Secretary of State's website and from the Town Clerk's office, either in person or by mail (requests can be submitted by calling 203 271-6601 or in writing to the Town Clerk, 84 South Main St., Cheshire, CT 06410).   Ballots are then issued for each valid application. 
 
The actual absentee ballots for each election are available one month prior to the election, or three weeks before a referendum.  These ballots can be picked up at the Town Clerk's office by the applicant or can be mailed directly to the applicant.  Please note that anyone may pick up an absentee ballot application for an elector, however, the ballot itself can only be handed in person to the elector named on the application or mailed directly to the applicant.
 
Ballots may be returned to the Town Clerk's office by the applicant in person or by mail.  An immediate family member may return a ballot, but must show identification and sign the sealed ballot envelope in front of a staff member.  All ballots must be returned by close of business on the day of the election or referendum to be counted. 

Please contact us at 203 271-6601 or at csoltis@cheshirect.org or visit the Town Clerk’s Office for more information.

Pool Solution goes to referendum in November

After a few tense moments last night the Town Council voted to put the Pool Solution on the ballot in November. It was a vote of 8-1 with Mr. Sima voting against. He felt that the committee should have gone with the more expensive option.

We disagree.

The Pool Evaluation Committee worked diligently to arrive at a recommendation that cuts operational costs, reduces closure of pool to 0%, retains the summer feel through removable side panels, is a reasonable cost, and has survived over pools during Hurricane Katrina and Michigan Lake effect snows. It is capable of being insulated better than our attics and it is a permanent enclosure. No more bubble collapses. No more downtime and closure while the bubble is put up and taken down thus decreasing revenue. It is a reliable recommendation that provides year-round, safe swimming for all our citizens.  It is a good solution that we encourage you to motivate all your neighbors to vote yes to.

Here are some views of the Solution. You can see that it is still an open feel and the picnic and grassy areas are preserved. The airlocks are gone and the dangerous doors replaced. The steel tension building is well insulated and strong. Take a look to get an idea of what the Solution will look like.

Vote Yes to the Pool Solution November 5th