Falls Village pool delayed for another season

FALLS VILLAGE — Town swimmers and sunbathers will have to go one more season without a municipal pool.

That was the word at this month’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting as First Selectmen Pat Mechare told officials progress in construction of the new facility has been slower than expected.

"We are moving along but I just don’t see how we can open this summer with the delays that we have been experiencing," Mechare said on June 11.

The frame for the poolhouse was being cut to specifications at the Falls Village Sawmill earlier this spring. Former First Selectman Louis Timolat is coordinating that effort. Timolat is a partner at the sawmill, which donated the wood for the poolhouse. Mechare said there has been no word yet on when that material will be available, but she expects the foundation for the pool house will be dug and poured very soon.

Then the plumbing and electrical work was performed by paid contractors, along with installation of the concrete decking around the pool and a pad for the surge tank. And there will be landscaping, fencing and exterior lighting.

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 hole for the surge tank was discovered to be too deep and recently had to be filled in, Mechare said.

Rather than finish the interior of the pool walls now, pool consultant Bill Drakely recommended finishing the walls next spring so that the pool would not have to be filled with treated water and covered over the winter, thus adding to costs.

The pool was approved by voters in March 2003 and has been plagued with problems since then. It was supposed to have been built that summer but construction was delayed in part by a 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 that there were possible health issues associated with the site near the town transfer station, which is located on a former landfill.

The pool is the first piece of a larger recreational facility on 76 acres of town-owned land at the intersection of routes 63 and 126. The property, known as the Town Farm, has room for additional facilities that could be constructed over time such, as new ballfields and a skating rink.

The new pool replaces a more rustic town pond that was next to the Falls Village Day Care Center on Page Road. That swimming hole was little more than a muddy-bottomed, spring-fed pool lined with asphalt and fiberglass. It was plagued with maintenance problems and was ordered shut down by the Torrington Area Health District at the end of the 2002 season.

The town’s swimming team has been using the North Canaan pool since 2003.

The Falls Village pool was originally supposed to be four lanes wide. In a town meeting in March 2005, residents voted 32-11 to increase the size of the proposed municipal pool from four lanes to six. The larger size will allow the swim team to host its own meets — but it also increased the projected cost of the facility. However, the town put aside about $100,000 over the past few years because it hasn’t had to hire lifeguards or pay for pool maintenance.

A reimbursement grant of $250,000 from the state’s Small Towns Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) willl pay for a portion of the construction costs.

Further savings will be realized through volunteer labor and donated materials. Total costs were originally estimated at $400,000.

Mechare said the final costs are unclear, in part because it is not known how much of the remaining work can be completed by volunteers. Mechare has already told the Board of Finance there could be a gap in funding of between $35,000 and $55,000. If more funds are needed to complete the project, voters would have to approve the additional spending in a town meeting.