Falls Village pool could be open by July

FALLS VILLAGE — Officials are crossing their fingers and hoping the long-awaited town pool will be open for business by July 1.

The new facility is substantially completed, with the poolhouse, the decking and the pool itself almost finished, and plumbing and electrical hooked up except for the bathroom fixtures in the poolhouse. A timely opening will largely depend on whether inspectors from the state health department find fault with any aspect of the project and demand a fix.

“If there’s one thing wrong, it can hold us up,� First Selectman Patricia Mechare said in an interview.

Mechare is hoping the inspection will take place the last week of this month, followed by a test on the well water to be performed by the Torrington Area Health District. Pool consultant and builder Bill Drakely was expected to arrive this week to drain the pool and complete the coating of the pool interior in consultation with pool committee Chairman Jim March.

The excavation and the pouring of the foundation of the pool itself were completed in 2005, as were the underground plumbing and stainless steel exterior.

The poolhouse siding was completed last week. By this weekend, workers are expected to install washable fiberglass wall liners in the poolhouse bathrooms. After that, the plumbers will arrive to install the toilets and sinks and hook up the poolhouse to the septic system. By that time, Mechare is hopeful the Recreation Commission will have secured the lifeguard stands.

The pool was approved by voters in March 2003 and has been the subject of controversy ever since. It was supposed to have been built that summer but construction was delayed in part by an unsuccessful lawsuit filed against the town by a contractor who was not selected during the bidding process. The pool process was also slowed by the need to find a site and obtain health department approval for a new well.

Some residents also argued that the town could not afford the price tag, that there might be hidden costs and there were possible health issues associated with the site near the town transfer station, which is located on the now-closed landfill.

The new pool is built on 76 acres of town-owned land at the intersection of routes 63 and 126. In the future, additional facilities could be constructed there, such as new ballfields and a skating rink.

The new pool replaces the old pool next to the Falls Village Day Care Center on Page Road, a spring-fed pool lined with asphalt and fiberglass. That pool was plagued with maintenance problems and was ordered shut down by the Torrington Area Health District at the end of the 2002 season.