WRA on pool costs
The WRA wrote this editorial about the pool. Needless to say, I agree with their analysis, particularly the conclusion:
The lone dissenter on the Town Council, Republican Tim White, made the most sense: Reduce operating costs by keeping the pool open during the summer only. Eventually, town officials will have to admit the pool was a costly mistake and do whatever they must to cut taxpayers' losses.Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
20 comments:
How does a permanent structure to the pool now make sense? The reduction in operating costs are ~ $45,000, which is only a fraction of the current annual deficit. Further, the annual cost to finance the $1.6m to build the structure must be at least $45,000. Finally, adding a permanent structure will make the pool less attractive for summer use, reducing membership and revenue. Based on the numbers presented, a permanent structure would seem to increase the total cost of the pool to the town.
A second proposal is to operate the pool only during the summer. Here, the question is what happens to the water during the winter. If left in the pool, it would need to heated to prevent freezing. If removed, what are the costs of disposing of thousands of gallons of chlorinated water and then refilling in spring? Also, revenue would decrease if the pool were closed for over half of the year.
Perhaps the most important question is why only 10% of residents have joined the pool. From a marketing perspective, the pool seems poorly run. The pool has few amenities, and little has been done to increase the value of a pool membership. If you want to attract residents with backyard pools or who belong to private clubs, there needs to be more incentive than a large body of heated water.
The Northend Interchange zone change can have a far greater net cost to the town than anyone can imagine. In light of the pool, why is a decision on it being made without a real impact study?
Don't we learn from past mistakes that were made? Are we going to rely the the promoter's pitch to make a decision?
“Eventually, town officials will have to admit the pool was a costly mistake”
or
“Eventually, George W Bush will have to admit the war was a costly mistake”
They all try to outfox the voters.
We will remember.
So we give up and have the tax payers pay P&I on the bonds and they have no pool? It was approved by the voters.
How about spending more money to promote the use of the pool? How about appointing the folks who lobbyied to get the pool built to sell memberships?
Evidently the idea is that a public facility will "sell itself"? Obviously, the lottery doesn;t follow this idea, now does it?
Tim, you should be re-elected if only because you're a great watchdog, and raise a lot of good questions no one else raises.
The Republican council that approved the pool should have to explain to the community just what they were thinking and what they were told about the financial operations.
The pool was approved at referendum. Don't blame the reps for the mess. I wonder how many residents that wanted this pool actually still live in town.
repubs got blamed and got tossed.
demos now get blamed but won't get tssed if schrumm is the choice.
alteri is the spend anything sports guy. he needs to go.
demos should get rid of alteri and repubs should get rid of schrumm. town would be better off.
repubs got blamed and got tossed.
demos now get blamed but won't get tssed if schrumm is the choice.
alteri is the spend anything sports guy. he needs to go.
demos should get rid of alteri and repubs should get rid of schrumm. town would be better off.
It is funny I don't remember seeing operating cost projections as part of the referendum? They were not disclosed, but I am sure the Council had them and did not let the public see them. This was something that the republicans wanted and lied and hid the fact to get it.
Emma's dad, why do you say the pool needs to be drained? I only drain my pool 18 inches to plug the intake lines and drain the pipes. It is gunite, not vinyl, and has not had any ill effects from the winter. I do not heat it during the winter (can't because the pipes are drained). I don't know anyone who drains their pool completely for the winter.
Emma's Dad,
The pool could use a permanent structure made of polycarbonate glass, greenhouse if you will. The "Y" in Orange did this type of retrofit and their membership increased by 400%, their energy costs were reduced by 70%. The total package cost them about 4 mil. They had a decision to make, fix it or close it. This is only one of several pool operations that have demonstrated the capability to be cash positive.
We spend 400k per year to subsidize the pool, why don't we just spend $400k per year to fix it? A simple ROI on 4 mil divided by $400k is 10 years. Increased membership will increase revenue, reduce operating loss and lower the total years of return on investment to something less than 10 years. The problem is there is not a political elected official in town that would support this idea.
The other option is turn the pool over to private industry, they would do the same thing. The town would be relived of 1 mil per year annual operating costs, a savings to the taxpayers.
Schrumm is the best council person.
At least he looks at both sides of an issue and thinks about the taxpayer. He's willing to stick his neck out to try kill unnecessary spending that irks the spenders with pet projects.
You mean pet projects like the million dollar mile (the trail)? David doesn't have pet projects? He always thinks of the tax payer? COME ON.
Is it true that Schrumm is the oldest person to ever to be on the council? No doubt the biggest ego.
No, was Dill older? Not sure.
I believe that Mr. Schrumm is the oldest person to ever serve on the council. He might even be a senior citizen. I think he graduated from Cheshire High School in the early 1960’s.
with age comes wisdom
The bashing goes on. What does this have to do with the pool? These people get paid ZERO. Give them a break. Nobody is perfect but from what I see they all try to do their best. Go jump in the pool and cool off.
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