Rec Commission Discusses Pool, Jefferson Field

Recreation Commission members were briefed on the Memorial Pool's financing, surplus and financial history Tuesday night.

Town Administrator Jim Gildea made the presentation as part of the commission's monthly meeitng. He noted the Memorial Pool was built in 1969 for $800,000, according to Gildea’s presentation. It was created, and paid for, as a town utility rather being financed by the municipal tax dollars.

That distinction is important, Gildea said, because it mean that Memorial Pool is self-sustaining; it operates every season using the revenues from the previous season. In fact, the only money ever invested into the pool by the taxpayers was the initial investment over 40 years ago.

Gildea stressed that if the pool had been built as a tax-funded entity, it would have
suffered during times of economic hardship. He said the potholes would be dealt
with before the pool if that were the case.

Princeton Municipal Pool is a victim of inadequate tax funding. Completed in 1968, it was the sister pool to Westfield Memorial Pool, said Bruce Kaufmann, director of the Westfield Recreation Department. “Their pool is the same as it was in 1968,” Kaufmann said. “It’s deteriorating, it’s falling apart, and they’re losing
membership.”

Today, the operation of the pool costs over $1 million, Gildea said. However, the pool utility surplus, which is overseen by the Recreation Commission and the Town Council, maintains a balance of over $255,000. The surplus will be over $300,000 next year.

In recent years, the Recreation Commission has appropriated portions of the surplus to help keep membership dues at low when they otherwise would have risen—a family membership today costs $360 for the summer.

Gildea said the Recreation Commission could decide to use the surplus to pay back pool bonds. The town took out 15 year bonds in 2002 to fund improvement projects at the pool, and those bonds can be paid off early starting in 2013.

“The pool is such a gem in this community, and the Town Council is very cognizant of how important the pool is,” Gildea said.

Also discussed during the meeting was the condition of the fields behind Jefferson
Elementary School. Jane Clancy, the Board of Education's facilities committee chairwoman, reported that an evaluation of the sewage pipes underneath the
field revealed cracks and openings in the lines. These breaks are big enough
that dirt from the field above sinks and falls into the sewage pipes, creating
the holes and divots that currently characterize the Jefferson field.

After the pipes are repaired, which Frank Arena, the Town Council liaison to the
Recreation Commission, suspects will be paid for by the town because the pipes
are public infrastructure, the field will be resurfaced.

A joint effort between the Board of Education, Recreation Commission and county will fund the purchase of new sod for the field.

Until then, Mike Morris, maintenance supervisor for the Westfield School District,
laid down 60 yards of soil onto the Jefferson field recently to keep it
playable throughout the season, Clancy said.