Tag Archives: pool

Vote Yes!

 

 

After the town pool in Cheshire CT had it’s bubble collapse again, people of the town started to wonder if the pool needed a more durable covering.  Finally, the people decided that a tension membrane was the way to go but, before they could start building it, the town has to hold a vote on November 5.  The tension membrane has better features than the old bubble in many ways.  One way is the tension membrane can withstand heavy loads of snow which brought down the last bubble.  Another way is the tension membrane can allow the community to have the pool open all of the time.  This helps many year-long organizations including Cheshire’s swim team, the Sea Dogs because they need the pool all year long for practices and meets.  The tension membrane is also a good solution because it can open on the sides during the summer so it can let fresh air in.  Many people are against the tension membrane though.  Many Cheshire residents that don’t use the pool just want to give up on the pool because they don’t want to have to pay taxes for a pool that they don’t even use.

In my opinion, I believe the Cheshire pool needs the tension membrane.  It will be great for open swim and organizations because it will be open all year long.   I’m on the Cheshire Sea Dogs swim team and we need the pool up and running all year long for our practices and swim meets.  Our team needs a reliable and durable structure like the tension membrane for the pool.  We need all Cheshire residents to vote yes for the tension membrane so we can get our pool up and running again!

~Courtney

The Pool Solution? A Tension Membrane Structure

 

On January 11, 2013, a massive blizzard swept our area causing a lot of damage.  Trees and power lines fell down giving us no power, but at the Cheshire Pool, located at 520 South Main Street, something more serious happened. The enormous bubble that keeps the pool enclosed for the winter couldn’t take all the pressure of the snow on top, which caused it to deflate and collapse.  Then, as if this wasn’t enough, the poles used by the swim team created a fifty foot hole in the bubble, erasing all hope for the bubble to be repaired.  Many months have resulted  in trying to find a new fixture to cover the pool.  Since this is the second time the bubble over the pool has collapsed, the town thought it was time to find a more permanent solution to the problem.  The current  end result was a tension membrane structure which will cost 3.2 million dollars.

As a swimmer myself, and although I don’t swim at the Cheshire Pool, I can see how disappointing this must be to all the swimmers that swim there.  Now, as the winter is just around the corner, the water is getting colder which means the Cheshire Pool must be closed.  Since there is no bubble to keep the warm air in the pool, the swimmers have to drive to another pool in the area to get their practice in.  This means the swimmers are up later at night driving to and from practice, where it would be so much easier if it were right in Cheshire.  In addition, the final solution for the pool will take a very long time to construct, and might not be ready until next year.  Although the process will take a long time, the end result will definitely be a satisfaction.

~Elli

What to do, What to do…

In the past few years, the bubble over the Cheshire Community Pool has collapsed twice as a result of heavy snow or blizzard conditions.  The pool facility was forced to shut down until warmer weather.  Community members, swim teams and all who used the pool had to swim elsewhere or not at all.  The pool committee did not want this to occur again, so after many months of research they held a town meeting on June 27, 2013 to present their ideas to the public.  The committee had come up with three top choices for construction:

1.) A new redesigned bubble

2.) A tension membrane

3.) A Polycarbonate structure

The Town Council decided on a tension membrane because it can be closed during the colder months, and then opened during the warmer months.  The pool’s best option, from what I learned in the meeting, was the polycarbonate structure, however it would cost $5-7 million.  I liked the tension membrane better, along with many other people.  The price for the tension membrane is $2.3 million.  It was my favorite because of the fact that it can be opened or closed, while the polycarbonate structure is a permanent structure.

Now the future of the Cheshire Community Pool rests in the hands of the Cheshire citizens who will vote in the upcoming election in November.  As a swimmer my hope is that the referendum will pass and my team can return to our home.  Having no home pool has had a huge impact on the daily lives of ALL Sea Dog swimmers and their families.  My teammates and I are currently traveling to Wesleyan University 5 days a week just to get practice time in!  Check out my swim team, The Sea Dogs, and don’t forget to vote YES on the pool!

~Ethan

 

New Pool Cover Could End Fireworks

Many people in Cheshire are getting genuinely excited about the new design for the local pool, but these people don’t realize that by building it, we might sacrifice the annual fireworks taking place in Bartlem Park. This new design will feature a 50 foot high permanent pool cover due to the collapse of the old cover. This weather resistant cover definitely sounds tempting, but it isn’t firework proof. The Cheshire pool is right next to  Bartlem, meaning that the white-hot embers of the traditional fireworks will float down to the cover and potentially melt through it.

In the eyes of some, this is a major setback, but in my opinion, it’s no big deal. This was never a problem before due to the retractable cover of the old pool, but there are many solutions to this so-called problem.  One of which is to hold the festival at another location. I would rather see this than see the fireworks cancelled, I feel like this would let everybody down. If another location cannot be found then it will it come to the fireworks being cancelled. I suggest this only as a last resort. If the fireworks were to end up cancelled, I would be able to see why. It would be ridiculous to sacrifice a 3 million dollar pool cover for a few minutes of a light show. Even so, I suggest the town do everything in it’s power to keep the fireworks going.

~Charles

ITS TIME TO BURST THE BUBBLE!

For a number of years the town pool of Cheshire, Connecticut has been a major issue. The “bubble” as it has been called has gone “POP” twice since the winter of the 2011 snow storm. With swim families all over town unhappy, closing the pool was a upsetting for the girls and boys high school swim team and the Cheshire team the Sea Dogs . In 2010 the Cheshire YMCA  asked to buy the pool from the town to put a facility in so that they could build a permanent structure but the town refused to give up the pool. As Cheshire is Such a big swim community not having a place to swim was a huge problem. There have been many meetings with town council members to see what can be done but they decided to put up another bubble. But as always when the time comes a bubble has to pop. And it did with the two big snow storms we have had in the past two years.

 Over this past summer,  the town has come up with the idea to build a tension rod structure that can hold up to 40 lbs of snow per square foot. This will only cost each household about $2.60 per year,  that’s  the price of one cup of coffee. Last school year the town spent $70,000 out of the education budget to transport the swimmers to different venues for practice. The girl’s swim team had a hard time finding a place to swim because when they tried to use the Cheshire Academy it was always being used, so finding a venue was difficult.  The new idea for the tension rod will probably be our best idea we can get without building a permanent structure. And as many hope that maybe it will be our best bet for the snow. We do live in Connecticut, it does snow. If there is as much snow this year as last let’s hope we don’t have to build something else.

~Gabby

Cheshire Public Pool Bubble: Two for Two

Have you heard that the Cheshire Public Pool bubble collapsed for a second time due to the 2013 snowstorm Nemo?  Can it happen a third time?  It occurred the first time from a snow storm two years ago and once again from blizzard Nemo that dumped up to 3 feet of snow on Cheshire. They tried to make the bubble sturdy enough to hold the weight of snow or rain, but clearly it hasn’t worked.  The weight of the snow has been too much to handle.  The past two snow storms have caused a lot of damage to the Cheshire Public Pool, not only to the bubble, but also to the equipment inside.  Now I ask you, do you think the town will decide to put up another bubble over the pool?

I honestly think that the Town of Cheshire will decide to put up a third bubble only to watch it collapse for a third time unless changes are made to the design.   If I was in charge of the town,  I would just keep the pool without a bubble.  What would you do if you have to choose?  The Cheshire Pool bubble collapsed because of the weight of the snow causing a tear in the bubble that was measured up to 40 feet long.  Who knew so much snow can cause the bubble to collapse two times?  Nobody knew snow could cause so much trouble to one town.  If the town of Cheshire had to get the opinion of residents, would you ever think of how many people would say put a new bubble up? Well, obviously the residents are thinking because each time the town is deciding to put a new bubble up it is costing the town money.  The money the town gets is from the residents through taxes. Would you want to pay higher taxes just to get the Town of Cheshire to put up another bubble over the pool or should we just put up a permanent structure over it? This idea of a permanent roof covering is a very expensive idea, but may be worth it in the end.  Have you ever thought of the people that have kids that have to pay for their kids to go to college?  How would you feel if you had to pay for your child’s education and have to give up some of their money for something the town should have to pay for?  How would you, as a resident in the Town of Cheshire, feel if you had to pay just to get a bubble that has a possibility of collapsing again to cover a pool.  The pool doesn’t necessarily need the the bubble because the pool can be used as a summer facility only.  The only problem with this idea is what will the town swim teams do about their seasons or what will the other townspeople do, who frequent the pool for year-round exercise?  Clearly, the town may be making the right decision by putting a new bubble over the pool, but who knows if it will be a waste of money to do so.

~Liana Quinones

The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!

During the recent blizzard that dropped more than three feet of snow in the area of Cheshire, the bubble on the Cheshire Community Pool collapsed. The pool is heavily used, both by the public and the Cheshire High School swim team and the Cheshire YMCA. A similar thing happened two years ago when several snowstorms caused a buildup on the bubble. There is no word from the town’s insurance company regarding the collapsed bubble, and the town can’t do anything until the report from the company is submitted. “We can’t touch it until we get that report back,” said Town Manager Michael Milone.  Milone said that the insurance coverage will pay for the replacement of the bubble like they did in 2011. Meanwhile, some residents are saying it’s time for a permanent structure at the pool so things like this don’t happen again. It’s likely it won’t reopen until late spring this year.

Since I moved to Cheshire just last year, I don’t know a lot about the things that goes on in this town, but since the collapsing of the bubble affected a lot of people, I got the news pretty quickly. I think that this could have been dangerous. I know no one was traveling at the time of the blizzard but if someone was in there it could have hurt them as the bubble collapsed. Now that wouldn’t be so good, would it. I know building a permanent roof is expensive, but I think it would be worth it. Also this makes a big inconvenience for people who use the pool on a daily basis like the Cheshire High School swimming team and the families that go there to have fun. I used to swim a lot when I was little and I absolutely loved it. If I didn’t swim then, I would have been really bored. Since this has happened twice, it would be most reasonable if we build a permanent roof. If you want to learn more about the pool, you can go to the Cheshire community’s website (http://www.cheshirect.org/recreation-and-leisure/community-pool).

~Saehim Chae

The Fall of the Town Pool

The town pool is a “waste of money” says a Cheshire citizen quoted in the Cheshire Herald.   Every year millions of dollars are spent on the Cheshire pool.  Does it have perks? Of course it does, it’s a pool. But does it also have a lot of bad things about it?   For example, this year we are spending 7 million dollars on a machine that will make it so the pool will not use as much energy.  A lifeguard who represented the pool at a town meeting stated that 500 kids were taught how to swim in 2011. The real question is whether 500 kids learning how to swim is more important than millions of dollars that could be going to other essential needs of the town.

In my opinion the Cheshire public pool is a HUGE waste of money. I think that millions of dollars of Cheshire’s money should be going to more important things like education or healthy eating. Yes, I do believe that it is attractive to have a town pool, but I do not think it looks good to the town if the roof covering it is falling down every single winter!   Did you know that 1.3 million dollars of the schools budget was cut so that there was more money to spend on the pool?  I doubt it. There is no way that we have this much money to just throw at the pool and hope that it survives the year.  Even if does survive then you just hope you won’t have too much trouble putting the bubble up and down. I have been a citizen of Cheshire ever since I was born and I think that I have been to the pool all of 3 times. There are way too many problems to worry about when dealing with the pool. I think that it should be closed for good.

~Adler Demac

Money Pit or Fun Activity?


In 2006, when the Cheshire Public Pool, located on 520 South Main Street opened, the public was ecstatic. They would not only be able to have a fun and enjoyable way to cool off on those humid summer days, but they would also be able to take a plunge in the  deep end on the cold frigid days.  The town made it possible for residents to swim in the winter by utilizing a fabricated bubble as the roof rather than one made wood or metal.   Using fabric for the roof made it possible for the Park and Recreation to take it down in the summer and place it back up in the winter.  From the start, this sounded like a very convenient method, but even before the pool had opened, there were many problems with the bubble, causing large financial hardships for the taxpayers of our town.

 I believe that the pools’ bubble is not worth keeping up; it is just a money pit.  Part of the tax money paid by the people of Cheshire goes toward the running and maintaining of the pool. When there are problems with the pools bubble, it cannot operate in the colder months.  Therefore, the residents feel as though they are throwing their hard earned dollars away.  As the pool continues to break down, taxes will continue to rise.  Since keeping the pool open in the winter months relies on the functioning of the bubble, I feel that eliminating the bubble and having a public pool only open in the summer would save the town and it’s residents more money in the future.

Leaving the Cheshire Public Pool only accessible in the summer would allow the town of Cheshire to put the tax money, paid by the townspeople, to better use. Instead, the town could use the tax dollars on more important factors that could strengthen our society and economy as a whole. Putting the tax dollars that went toward keeping the bubble open all year could now go to strengthening the public school system in Cheshire.  This money could also be used to create more sports teams on different levels. For example, Cheshire High School could bring back the junior varsity golf team to allow more students to play.  Lastly, money could go towards buying new technology for the Cheshire Public School Systems.  As you can see, taking down the Cheshire Public Pool bubble once and for all would only assist in more savings.

With all things considered, I feel as though the town of Cheshire shouldn’t keep the public pools’ bubble up.  We could put our tax money towards more important and essential things for the growth of our economy.  In the long run, keeping the bubble up would not be for our benefit.

~Lauren Clements

A Big Waste of Money

Do we really need a pool in our town? Each year the town of Cheshire spends millions of dollars on the pool. Is it beneficial? Maybe, but there is no reason that the town should be spending their money on the pool. Every year there is some kind of problem with the pool that just makes the town spend money like crazy. One year we had such a bad winter that the roof collapsed! Well there goes about two million dollars trying to fix that. The money we spend on this pool can go to much better needs for this town.

In my opinion, the Cheshire town pool is a total waste of money. The only people that use it are the boys and girls swim teams in the town.  But they are in their swim season right now and they can’t even use it because of course there is a problem with it. I know that I have only been there about three times ever since it opened. Cheshire needs to be spending their money on something the town will use. For example, give some money to the school systems or make something useful like a shopping center or movie theater where kids and adults will actually go. Recently a Cheshire citizen who has been living here for their entire life told me that when she was a kid there was an ice skating rink and a movie theater  Well what happened to those?! They are gone. Now we live in a boring town that wastes their money on a pool.

~Jacqueline Allard