Princeton seeks public input on improvements to community pool

By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
   Area residents are once again invited to provide input on the future design of a rebuilt and restored Community Park Pool, at a meeting set for Tuesday night at the Princeton Township Municipal Building.
   The meeting, scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m., follows a similar community gathering held in September at the pool, which was originally built in 1967.
   Tuesday’s meeting is aimed at combining the comments and concerns of Princeton residents with the ideas of Princeton Recreation staff and hired consultants, according to Jack Roberts, the executive director of the Princeton Recreation Department.
   ”We want to wed their desire with ours,” Mr. Roberts said.
   Those attending Tuesday’s meeting will have an opportunity to review information gathered at the September meeting, provide additional comments, and ask questions of Princeton Recreation staff and employees from CMX, an engineering and consulting firm, and other consultants assisting with the project.
   Following Tuesday’s meetings, officials hope to begin putting together a rough concept of what would be appropriate for the rebuilt pool complex. Two months later, another meeting will be scheduled where basic concepts could be presented for further input and refining.
   ”By March 1, we should be pretty well-finished and have some concept plans,” Mr. Roberts said.
   Recreation officials envision three plans, made up of a bare-bones plan and two others, of varying intensity and cost. Those plans would have to undergo scrutiny from the governing bodies of the two Princeton municipalities.
   But the major hurdle for any finished plan for the Community Park Pool is funding, according to Mr. Roberts, who called the financial support of such a project “a huge issue.”
   He added, “Governments are very reticent to pony up money” at this time.