Great Expectations

"Hope is itself a species of happiness, and, perhaps, the chief happiness which this world affords: but, like all other pleasures immoderately enjoyed, the excesses of hope must be expiated by pain; and expectations improperly indulged must end in disappointment."
--Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)

"Falls Village pool delayed another season" read the headline on page B2 of last week's Lakeville Journal. The story left many questions unanswered such as: how much is it going to cost to finish the pool [photo above] and does the town have enough money set aside to do so? It also made me wonder: When did volunteer labor and donated materials becomes part of the pool's financial equation? I don't remember that ever being mentioned at the Town Meeting in December 2005 when we voted to expand the pool from four lanes to six, which raised the overall price-tag. I posed these questions in an email on Tuesday to First Selectman Pat Mechare and her thorough response follows.


The estimated cost of completing the pool and having it fully operational based on the information that we currently have is about $180,000. There are a few things that have not been included in that price such as finish grading and planting of the grass inside and for certain, yet, undetermined areas outside the fence. The work to finish the parking area so that it is a relatively level and smooth area hasn’t been included either. We believe that the Town Crew can accomplish these two items as a cost saving measure for the Town. If that becomes impossible then there will be costs in addition to what I’ve quoted above. We hope there will not be other unanticipated costs, but that is always a possibility. There are set contracted costs, but we have been very careful to update the costs of those items which remain to be completed that are not part of any contract. We believe our costs estimates for those things are more than reasonably accurate.

At the moment we have about $90,000 in the “pool” account. If you recall, at the Town Meeting in May, it was approved to transfer up to $40,000 of unexpended funds from Series 4001 of the 2006-2007 budget to the pool account. Since the fiscal year just concluded Linda is not sure how much money in Series 4001 is available to transfer, so we await that figure. There will be something to transfer, but we’re not sure at the moment how much that will be. Additionally, there will be available in the 2007-2008 approved budget, $25,000 to use toward expenses incurred to complete the pool project.

The cost for the materials for the frame and siding and the crew to erect the frame of the pool house if these items were not donated, excluding the cost of the crane which we have included in our estimates, would be at least $40,000 and perhaps more.

The pool house per se will not have to be build. The frame with the siding will be erected by FV Sawmill. The volunteers would be gathered to finish any work on the exterior and interior of the building not included in the framing and siding of the building. There is no schedule for work as of yet because we are still waiting for the wood to be cut to the specifications.

Volunteers are not being asked to build the pool or do any well drilling, excavation, septic, mechanical, electrical or concrete work etc. Those things have been contracted and for the area around the pool itself have almost been completed. As you are aware the pool is in the ground. Any plumbing, electrical, concrete, hooking to the water and sewer etc. that needs to be finished inside the building will be done by professionals. Somewhere in the middle of the process FV Sawmill saw an opportunity to assist the Town and reduce its cost by donating the wood for the frame and siding of the building and erecting it for the Town. There is some finish work that will need to be completed including installation of windows and doors and items such as mirrors, soap dispensers, shelves, fire extinguishers etc. that will need to be attached to the walls. The thought was that those less complex tasks could be handled by volunteers and save the town considerable money. At the Town Meeting the project was discussed in general terms mostly regarding the size of the pool etc. Specifics regarding design of the pool house and all the other things that have to be done were discussed at most, in general and not specific terms. As the project has evolved the Pool Committee has worked diligently to keep costs down and this is one way of doing that. It has always been my understanding that this project would be done over a number of years so that the Town would not have to either bond the cost or take enormous amounts out of the general fund. The trade-off for such a concept is that the project will take time to complete.

Essential work is not being put off until the spring. It is the hope of the Committee that the pool house itself and most of the interior and finish work and essential hook-ups can be completed before the snow flies. Obviously, we need to keep in mind that we have to have the materials available to do this! With a bit of luck we’re hoping to install the fence as well. What will be likely left for the spring is the finish work on the walls and floor of the pool, the finishing of the grading around the pool and the planting of the grass and dealing with the parking area and doing whatever the State requires of us before the pool can be used. The pool, at least in my memory has never opened up on Memorial Day, but instead the weekend after school is finished for the “year”. We are hopeful that we can meet that deadline.