Report: $2.4Mneeded to reopen pool
Madden cites larger problem with the overall lack of youth programs
TROY, N.Y. >> The likelihood that the city will be able to reopen two municipal pools for the summer fell substantially after an engineering firm found it would take at last three times as much money to make them safe than had been initially thought.
Mayor Patrick Madden on Tuesday released the results of engineering studies done for both the Knickerbocker Park and South Troy pools by CDM Smith, a global engineering consultant with a local office in Latham. Those reports estimated that the two pools would need a minimum of $2.4 million in work, but also recommended that even if the city decides to go through with repairs, the pools should not be reopened this summer so that work can be done.
“It’s worse than we thought,” Madden said Tuesday morning,
citing an initial estimate of $550,000 given last fall by a company brought in last fall to take a cursory look at the two facilities.
With the reports in hand, Madden said his administration will produce shortand long- term plans for the future of both pools that guarantees the safety of swimmers and is fiscally responsible.
City Council President Carmella Mantello, a vocal supporter of reopening the pools, did not dispute CDM Smith’s findings Tuesday, thought she admitted she had had little chance to review the reports. However, in an emailed statement, she renewed criticism of the administration’s handling of the pools.
“I must once again emphasize that this report should’ve been done late last summer … or early fall, prior to the decision to close the pools,” she wrote. “We are now getting a report on May 23, approximately one month before the necessary steps must be taken, such as Health Department approval, hiring lifeguards and making repairs to the pools. It would appear that this process, regardless of costs, inherently foreclosed the ability of the city to open the pools for 2017.”
In its individual reports on each pool, CDM Smith provided three different cost estimates for repairs to keep each open another five years. with work prioritized by necessity. The minimum costs for the most-needed repairs were $1.4 million for the Knickerbocker pool and $1 million for the South Troy pool, with maximums of about $2.1 million for each.
Among the needed work, according to the reports, are:
• Repairs to concrete pool decks
• Replacement of underground pipes
• Repairs to pool gutters • Replacement of stair railings
• Repairs to buildings at both sites
The engineering firm said the Knickerbocker pool was in poorer condition than its counterpart in South Troy, with a need to repair corroded sections of the steel shell of that pool a major factor in the extra cost estimated to make that facility safe.
CDM Smith also provided an estimated cost to replace the pools with new structures in their exist- ing locations, with each expected to cost about $3.7 million, leading Madden to further question the wisdom of investing money simply to buy the city a little more time.
“Does it make sense to invest money in pools that are more than 50 years old?” Madden asked.
Funding for the pools was not included in the 2017 city budget, with Madden removing about $130,000 to staff the two facilities from his initial proposal, arguing then that they needed extensive repairs the city simply could not afford. Madden did, however, take $40,000 of that funding and redirect it for the city to use to help local community service organizations to fund youth programs and activities. While the council agreed to the pool closings as part of a final budget agreement — though it also removed the $40,000 in proposed funding for youth programs — several members sought to reconsider the decision after learning of an online petition drive that has to date garnered about 650 signatures from past and present city residents.
Supporters of keeping the pools open, led by Mantello, have called on the city to dip into a $2.4 million budget surplus realized in 2016 or look for any other possible funding to keep the pools open. Those supporters argue the pools serve a valuable purpose during the summer and fear their closing could lead to a rise in street crime and to children looking at more dangerous swimming options, like the Hudson River, the Poestenkill or the reservoir in Frear Park.
Madden, however, said the pool situation is simply one part of a much larger problem that needs to be addressed: an overall lack of programs and activities for city youth.
“The bigger question is: What are we doing for the youth of Troy?” Madden said. “The answer is, less and less every year.”
Even if the city were to find the money to reopen the pools, Madden said that is far from enough to answer the larger question. He said he and other officials have been working with community service agencies throughout the city to find a way to offer more summer recreation options for city youth.
“Even if we got the pools open, that’s only part of the issue,” Madden said. “I think the more holistic approach would do more for our youth.”