Consultant Estimates Dickinson Pool Replacement At $4 Million

By John Voket

A Boston-based consultant who has been studying conditions at the Dickinson Park pool since last spring presented the pros and cons of replacing the aging and difficult to maintain facility to Parks and Recreation commissioners Tuesday evening.

Joel Bargmann, an architect who has worked with several other Connecticut municipalities in recent years on municipal pool projects, told town officials including First Selectman Herb Rosenthal that a full-scale replacement of the existing pool and related renovations could cost upward of $4 million.

Mr Bargmann was joined at the meeting by Richard Boston, the director of landscape architecture for Design Professionals, Inc of South Windsor. The pair used several large posters and handouts to explain topography challenges and illustrate safety, health, and handicapped accessibility issues that all added up to the pair advising the town to strongly consider closing the existing facility and replacing it with one of several choices of more conventional pool configurations.

According to Parks and Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian, her department has been considering the possibility of upgrading the Dickinson pool, a manufactured basin with a paved asphalt bottom, for some time. Concerns have increased significantly in recent years as renovations and repairs to the existing basin have become more frequent and difficult to sustain.

The consultants spent nearly an hour Tuesday relating myriad issues that will make the continuing use of the existing facility even more challenging in the future. They noted environmental concerns, particularly the pool’s location in a flood plain with direct proximity to Deep Brook, a Class A trout stream, as one of the primary motivations for their suggestions to replace the facility sooner rather than later.

A full-scale renovation of the pool and surrounding landscaping, including a minor reconfiguration of the parking lot, would also help bring the facility into compliance with Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, Mr Bargmann told parks commissioners.

“To make this area ADA compliant, a lot of things have to happen,” Mr Bargmann said. “The showers and sanitary facilities are not currently handicapped accessible.”

The consultant also noted the parking and picnic areas as well as the snack bar also lack convenient and safe access for those with disabilities who may be visiting the park.

The advisors said costs to recirculate a natural water flow through the current pool configuration by current environmental and health standards could cost the town more than $400,000 annually.

“An artificial bathing area like this requires 1,000 gallons of water, per person, per day of natural water flow to stay within state guidelines,” Mr Bargmann said. He said the water demands are based on a full capacity of 1,300 users on any given day.

“The pool has lived out its life expectancy,” Mr Bargmann said. “But alternatives are not inexpensive.”

He calculated costs for replacing the existing pool with a new pond facility at about $4.1 million, and presented an alternative plan to upgrade to a recreational pool facility at closer to $5 million. The costs are quite inclusive with permitting, legal, design, and site work fees built-in. Any renovation would also include a new pool house with showers, lockers, sanitary facilities, a snack bar area and room for lifeguard offices, supplies storage, and pump equipment.

The consultants said a pool replacement could be scaled back to conserve costs, or constructed in phases over several years. Any upgrade would close the existing pool for at least one season, Mr Bargmann said.

The consultants conveyed their vision for a replacement facility as creating a full-day destination for users with fully accessible picnic grounds and food service, a separate zero-entry kiddy pool, and the possible integration of accessories like slides and sprinklers similar to those one might find at a commercial water park.

The pair was particularly concerned about extending the life of the facility as is, considering the ADA compliance issues as well as other sanitary and safety concerns. They noted the lack of bathhouse and permanent sanitary facilities, no hand or foot washing areas, a disabled diving platform, and even the pool water clarity resulting from the lack of appropriate recirculating of water among other issues the town needs to address.

“Cracked areas of the existing liner present safety hazards, and broken off pieces of the pond basin create a hazardous condition when remnants end up on the lawn,” Mr Bargmann pointed out. A handout noted that local wildlife, especially geese, are contributing to deteriorated sanitary conditions of the grounds and the water, and that items from the sandbox to the chain link fence surrounding the area are subpar or not currently conforming to building or safety codes.

Mr Bargmann referenced other communities he has worked with to replace similar concrete or asphalt pools including South Windsor’s Veteran’s Memorial Pool and other facilities in Manchester, N..H., Bangor, Maine, and Essex Junction, Vt., as examples of what Newtown could achieve within the $4–$5 million budget.

He said a replacement of the existing Dickinson facility would have a 25–50-year life expectancy, and could quickly become financially self-sufficient, especially with the addition of accessories like the aforementioned water park features.

The consultants’ ultimate suggestion was a configuration that would closely resemble the current facility, with a separate kiddy pool and a multifeatured main swimming area comprised of zero entry access, a 100-meter lap area, a 12-foot deep diving area, and a four- to six-foot-deep general recreational swimming area. The second pool would also offer protection to younger swimmers by separating the zero-entry shallow end with a three-quarter pier before opening up to the 100-meter adult and advanced swimmer’s area.