Mills Pond Pool Study Underway

The town is currently conducting a study of Mills Pond Pool.

The $19,500 study is being conducted by TLB Architecture of Chester and will look at every facet of the pool including infrastructure, maintenance and use. The funds were taken from $30,000 set aside in budget for pool study and renovations.

The first step in the process, already underway, is to evaluate what’s there. The company will get very specific conditions and measurements for the pool, decking, pool house, pumps, drainage structures, chemical controls, and other details, said Parks and Recreation Director Brian Wilson. It will also look at what may fall short of current code and American with Disability Act requirements.

“They’ll give us a very nice picture of what we currently have,” Wilson said.

With a pool that dates back to 1976, Wilson knows there are problems, many of which the town already knows about.

“I know there’s issues over there,” he said.

Earlier this year, for example, the town dealt with a broken filter pump just as the season was about to start.  It was able to have the existing one refurbished fairly quickly at a cost of $4,000.

The company will also review maintenance procedures. The town now pays a total of $16,000 per year to open and close the pool. At the beginning of each season the pool itself is drained, power washed and repainted. The firm will look at that and other procedures to see if there’s a more efficient, less costly way to do things.

The study will also break down and prioritize larger needs at the pool, Wilson said.

“The study will provide recommendations and piece them out as how we should prioritize them and they will provide sort of a price breakdown of options,” Wilson said. It should be done by the end of December.

An example of a possible change would be to make the pool conform to competitive swimming regulations, Wilson said.

Currently, the town has a competitive swim team with just under 100 participants but the pool is too narrow but too long to meet regulations to host meets.

One possibility in making changes is to rectify that. Possibilities would include some type of divider, a new L shape portion or a “pool within’ a pool,” Wilson said.

“There’s a growing interest in the competitive swimming,” he said.

Meets can also generate revenue, he said, but if that were a direction the town wants to go in, it would have to be balanced with open public use, he said. With an estimated 300 to 500 users a day it is a popular destination with a wide variety of swimmers, Wilson said.

“The main part of that is really determining how to keep the pool as flexible as possible,” he said.

And any major recommended changes to the pool itself, the pool house or other aspects would not be done without the public’s input, Wilson said.

The department also has some feedback already from a previous online survey.

And of course, any changes would have to include in future budgets or spending packages.

“It will be ultimately up to the community to decide where they want to see the investment made,” he said.

The Board of Selectmen recently discussed the study.

Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner said it’s sorely needed.

“I think it’s long overdue,” Skinner said

In responding to selectmen’s questions, he said bringing in another party to run the facility has come up in the past but with current economic climate the town needs to concentrate more on doing something sooner than later.

Skinner, responding to another question, also said the study would look at whether it is less expensive to “start over.”

Wilson said he does not think that will be the case — at least with the pool itself.

“I think we still have a very good pool,” Wilson said.

And even without an influx of town money, there will be some improvements for next year. The Lions Club is raising money to lend a hand and once the study is complete, it will help the organization know how to best direct its efforts, Wilson said.