By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
Princeton’s Community Pool is so old and dilapidated that if it isn’t replaced soon there is a real possibility the 41-year-old public pool will need to be closed for emergency repair during the summer, resulting in a lost season, said Princeton’s recreation director.
Speaking before a meeting of Princeton Township Committee on Monday evening, Jack Roberts, executive director of the joint Recreation Department, said the pool does not pose an immediate safety hazard to users. However, he said, its lack of modern decontamination and communications equipment makes the possibility of an outbreak of a waterborne parasitic infestation like Cryptosporidium or a pool accident gone awry more likely.
Mr. Roberts also cited decomposing locker room walls, corroding bathroom fixtures, an outdated shower system, inefficient locker room spaces, deteriorating concrete floors, a pool manager’s office that “was not safe for habitation without being reinforced,” inadequate and poorly-equipped concession facilities and lifeguard locker rooms he characterized as “medieval.”
Responding to Mr. Robert’s presentation, Township Administrator Jim Pascale said, “of course we need a new pool,” but added, “What seems to be missing from my point of view is we don’t have a financial plan.””I think it’s time to look at financials in the same length and detail that we are looking at the concrete and construction,” Mr. Pascale said. “I just don’t know if this is something that has to be a 100 percent municipal obligation. We need some number crunching,” he said.
Mr. Roberts said, despite it being an inopportune time due to the poor economy, the Recreation Department is looking to set up a fundraising foundation to inaugurate a capital campaign to benefit a new pool, and would willingly use money from a “sink fund” — its long-term capital fund that currently amounts to about $400,000 and is replenished with around $60,000 of surplus a year — toward further study of the financials of constructing a new pool, as well as diffusing the ultimate cost.
Mr. Roberts said he was concerned about the possibility of doubling or tripling seasonal rates at the pool as a way to diffuse construction costs. Hiking rates might also fly in the face of the Recreation Department’s mission statement to provide reasonable pool access to the Princeton community, including its poorer members, he said.
”The fees will definitely go up,” Mr. Roberts said. However, “with the greatest respect, you are going to get a big push-back” from the community if they go up too much, he added.
”It is important to point out the borough is a big part, a 50 percent part, of the pool,” said Committeeman Chad Goerner. No decision on building and funding a new pool can be made until the next joint meeting of the borough and township to discuss the capital plan for joint agencies, Mr. Goerner said.
”Obviously, we would like to see the two governments step forward and fund it fully. In an ideal world, that’s what we’d like,” Mr. Roberts said.
In the current economic crisis, the finance committees of both municipalities have not recommended setting aside $7 million in capital funds for rebuilding the pool immediately and members of Borough Council have balked at the cost in public comments.
Mr. Roberts said that if a new community pool were given the go-ahead, it could be completed in time to open in the summer of 2011, without disrupting the seasonal schedule, or at worst delaying opening by a month or so.
He agreed to go back to the consulting firm and contract with it to obtain a more detailed financial picture of the project, as well as “look at ways we can do this more simply” to save money.
”I am concerned about Cryptosporidium,” said Mr. Roberts. New Jersey has not recorded an outbreak of the parasite but there have been outbreaks in pools in other states, resulting in public disease and several deaths as well as lengthy pool closures, he said.
The children’s pool at the Community Pool does not have a separate filtration system from the main pool, Mr. Roberts said. A Cryptosporidium outbreak often originates in the children’s pool, and if a new pool complex were built a separate filtration system and ultraviolet light sterilization capabilities would be installed for the children’s and main pools, he said.
”We have the technology to absolutely guaranty that that (a cryptosporidium outbreak) will never happen,” Mr. Roberts said. Because of the unpleasant nature of cryptosporidium, if there is an outbreak at the old pool, “you will hear about it” from the community, he told Township Committee members.
Of the pool’s current communications setup, Mr. Roberts said, “The system that was put in in 1967 (when the pool was built) has pretty much passed us by.”
Communication between lifeguards, the pool manager and rescue personnel is critical in the event of an accident, Mr. Roberts said. “We’ve gone 41 years without a fatality” at the pool, he said, adding, “We are beating the averages big time, and it is a wonderful thing to be able to say that.” A modern communications system is a critical need to ensure this unblemished record continues, he said.
Asked by Committeewoman Sue Nemeth whether the pool posed a physical safety threat, such as whether its walls were likely to collapse on swimmers, Mr. Roberts responded, “Will a wall fall on somebody? I find that highly unlikely.”
The real risk would be from a large pool wall breach or buried pipe leak during the summer season necessitating the draining of the pool and the loss of all or part of a swim season, he said.
”The walls have fatigued to a point where we have to go in and rebuild them,” Mr. Roberts said. “All that is okay if we are not in season,” he said, but if it is summer season, “then we are down, and down for the count for a significant period of time, because you have to empty the pool before you can repair the walls.”
”It has been Band-Aids over the years so you really can’t predict what is going to happen, when it is going to happen,” said Township Engineer Bob Kiser.
”Yes, we have kept the pool in very good order,” Mr. Roberts said. But it has outlived its 30 to 35 year expected life span, he said. “When do you get to the point where you are throwing good money after bad?” he asked.
The Recreation Department has spent $350,000 on “Band-Aids” for the pool since 1990, he said. A consulting firm, Water Technologies Inc., has given the Recreation Department three possible designs for a new pool complex, with a cost ranging from $7 million to $8.5 million, he said.
Mr. Roberts said the Recreation Department sells 3,800 season tickets for the pool each summer and “We have roughly 55,000 public passthroughs each year.”
Township Mayor Bernie Miller asked whether individual components of the pool complex — such as the food concession or locker rooms — could be rebuilt incrementally, avoiding the expense of an all-at-once rebuilding.
Mr. Roberts said the Recreation Board and department staff had studied this question and because of the aged network of piping buried in concrete underneath all facilities and other factors it is not feasible to single out areas for renovation one by one. Mr. Kiser said he agreed that phased construction of a new pool could not be accomplished given the current needs in all areas.
Mr. Roberts said building a new pool as soon as possible “we think in the long run is really a lot cheaper” than continuing to pay to patch up the current outdated pool.

