Thursday, December 24, 2009

Understanding the damage at the pool

Last weekend, the snowstorm caused some damage at the pool. The Herald's Josh Morgan provides an explanation on what happened:

The talk of a new structure came on the heels of thousands of dollars worth of damage that occurred at the pool over the weekend. The snow on Saturday night and into early Sunday morning piled up on the bubble and collapsed the southwest corner, mangling an emergency exit door in the process.

Town Manager Michael Milone explained that, when snow is expected, the heat in the bubble is cranked up so the precipitation melts when landing on the bubble. However, the snow fell so quickly and was so heavy, it didn’t have a chance to melt the snow, Milone said. Instead, large chunks of snow and ice piled up and caved in the corner of the bubble.

Tim White

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Clearly this is yet another case of THE BAD SNOW which did not understand that SNOW wasn't allowed to pile up fast because the TM says it isn't.

Come on, give us all a break. This happened because the particular design was FUBAR from the start. Spinning it any other way is an attempt to divert our attention from how crazy it was to select this particular design for a site in New England.

And it would be great if in addition the TM could let the public know just how much $$ is spent on average whenever the heat is cranked up while no one is in attendance just to keep the silly bubble inflated - - -

Breachway said...

I was cranking the heat up the other day to clear the snow on my roof. Letting it sit at 82-86 for 2.5 hours and then open the attic door. The ensuing rush of hot air works a little like a convection oven. I then lower the temp to @ 78 and let the house roast for another 3- 4 hrs. This is my great granny Ester's No Snow On Your Roof recipe...its been in the family for ages....Merry XMAS everyone.

Anonymous said...

Yeah great idea. That's how we effectively and efficiently take care of our buildings. You are a moron.

Of course your example takes for granted that the heat works properly in the first place instead of just making CO and gassing everyone, AND that someone is in attendance to "crank it up". Here's hoping Santa is handing out some basic smarts this year and you were a good boy. Check your stocking.

Anonymous said...

Tim, could you get an explanation from Park and Rec on this? I dont understand why you base what happened off a report by a Herald reporter.

Raising the temp is a perfectly acceptable method to removing the snow. Heat builds up about a foot above the top and should create rain. The entire bubble is warm and the rain rolls off. It is obvious that the problem was the buildup of snow and ice around the base of the structure.

2:02 - How does the police dept play into this incident? If you hate them so much, MOVE!

Anonymous said...

Hey 2:02: There's a good chance all of those people were there... with your mom.

Anonymous said...

The pool bubble is cabled to concrete anchors at the foundation base of the bubble structure. Melting snow cascading off the dome jammed behind one of the cables. Added accumulation there caused the collapse and the doorway came down. Once the snow weight was removed the emergency doorway was lifted back inplace due to the air pressure in the bubble. Unfortunatetly the door was damaged in the process and is now kept securely closed by a one of the town's backhoes.

The perimeter around the bubble is routinely cleared of snow buildup during and after snow storms since this condition has existed since the bubble went up.

We should be happy town crews were there when this happened so no additional damage could occur.

Once again a case is being made for getting this bubble replaced.

Anonymous said...

Is a case being made to get the bubble replaced or is a case being made for town government to get out of the sports and entertainment business? As more and more troubles from the likes of this municipal pool are exposed it seems to make a great case for this town government to get out of sports related activities all together. A month doesn’t seem to go by without some new revelation concerning the incredibly poor design selected, approved, overseen, and maintained by town government. Clearly the 10 year track record speaks to just how well town government actually performs. They are not up to the tasks associated with sports and entertainment activities.

What really changes if this same crew is responsible for a new enclosure at the town pool?

Anonymous said...

Thousands of dollars worth of damage?

If it was only a door, how do you get to thousands of dollars of damage.

Did we have to spend thousands on Milone and Macbroome to study and engineer a plan for bringing a backhoe in?

Did all town crews have to be called in at double overtime?

Were ambulances on standby?

Was the WB called, just in cas a finger was needed to plug a leak?

Did the town engineer have to be paid extra for driving in from Branford?

Anonymous said...

7:31:

Yes... YES! I can feel your anger. Your hatred has made you strong! Now strike me down with all of your hatred, and your journey toward the dark side will be complete!

And if that doesn't work, well... your mom is a wookie.