The warm weather is upon us, and the Town Pools are preparing to open for the summer on Memorial Day Weekend. For the 2023 season the schedule for opening the pools will be slightly altered from the traditional opening schedule. The Country Knolls Pool will have a new liner in 2023. Due to scheduling issues with the contractor, the liner installation will not begin until next week. To ensure we have two pools open on Memorial Day Weekend as originally planned, the Locust Lane and Barney Road Pools will open on May 29th. Country Knolls will open when the liner installation project is complete.

The Town embarked on a plan in 2022, to have the pool liner replaced at the Country Knolls Pool. Due to concerns regarding contractor availability and possible supply chain delays in securing the needed materials, a plan was initiated to allow for the maximum amount of time to schedule the necessary steps in the process. Following the closure of the pool in 2022, crews began to remove the old liner and complete the necessary repairs to the pool structure. The work continued until the weather dictated an end to the project for 2022. This Spring, crews completed the remaining repairs and the pool was prepared for the liner installation. We were notified recently the company responsible for the installation would not be able to complete the project as scheduled and work would not begin until approximately mid-June.

Supervisor Barrett explained at Monday’s Town Board Meeting, the plan for the pools this year was to have two pools open on Memorial Day Weekend, which is earlier than when the pools have opened in recent years. After exhausting every possibility, the liner could be installed in time for Memorial Day, preparations were underway to open Country Knolls Memorial Day Weekend without the liner. The pool would then close temporarily for the liner installation and reopen when the project has been completed. However, Tuesday morning we received a call that the liner installation contractor will be here next week. After receiving this call, a new plan was devised.

Typically, the Country Knolls and Barney Road Pools open first, and the Locust Lane Pool opens in late June. This year due to the liner replacement at Country Knolls we will be opening Barney Road and Locust Lane Pools for Memorial Day. Country Knolls will open when the liner installation project is complete, which we estimate will be mid-June. It is difficult to provide an estimated open date for Country Knolls due to the scheduling issues we have experienced to date and the contractor’s progress will be weather dependent. We are hopeful we can open earlier than that time frame.

The Town’s Building and Grounds Department and Pool Management team have been working hard to prepare for the 2023 season. The Learn to Swim Program will also continue in 2023. The number of youngsters who will be able to take the swim classes will be dependent upon the number of certified lifeguards in the program. Details for the program will be released in the near future. We continue to recruit lifeguards for various roles, including teaching swim lessons. The free lifeguard training class had its second successful year and will be offered again in preparation for the 2024 season. The overall lack of lifeguards experienced across the country has been challenging, but we have a great team ready to maintain a safe environment for our pools in 2023.

We look forward to seeing you at the pools this Summer!

Update 6/26/2023: The Country Knolls pool will open today at noon! Our team is completing the final opening details this morning. The last couple of weeks have been frustrating and another example of issues we have experienced with contractors this year. Please also note the Locust Lane Pool will be closed Monday through Wednesday this week for Water Safety Instructor Training in preparation for the Learn to Swim program we offer annually for families. The Barney Road Pool will remain open with normal operating hours.

Update 6/26/2023: We began filling the Country Knolls Pool again yesterday afternoon. Our team has done a great job with all preparations to open this pool for the season. We will have an additional update later today.

Update 6/25/2023: The contractor and pool employees arrived early this morning and work continues. All of the water trapped under the liner has been removed and the contractor is fixing the source of the problem that occurred during construction. When the repair is complete we can begin filling the pool and bringing the water to established health standards. Barney Road and Locust Lane pools are open today!

Update 6/24/2023: Work continues at the Country Knolls Pool today. Pumps continue to remove the water trapped beneath the new liner due to a pipe accidentally being blocked by the contractor during construction. The contractor and Pool Manager, Brian Czerpak were working inside the pool and adjusting water levels as necessary. When all the water is removed from under the liner the contractor will begin the repair. 

Update 6/23/2023:  We found a small pipe that is part of the overall filtration system was blocked by the construction. The contractor has returned and a pump has been setup to remove the water that collected behind the liner. After the water has been removed from the wall area we will completely drain the shallow part of the pool and they will remove the water that collected between the liner and the bottom of the pool. When the repairs are completed we will fill the pool and restart the process of bringing the water to health standards. We will continue to provide updates as the process continues.

Update 6/23/2023: The Country Knolls Pool Liner Replacement and Construction Project has experienced another delay.  Despite planning the project well in advance of the 2023 pool season and completing the liner removal and most of the construction work in the Fall of 2022, the contractor was late to begin the final step of installing the new pool liner.  The installation did not begin until late May and the estimated timeline for completing this phase of the project is reaching two weeks later than expected.  After we were informed the liner installation was completed earlier this week, the contractor was forced to return to reattach the lines on the bottom of the liner surface.  When that repair was completed, we began to fill the pool in advance of the goal of opening this weekend if there were no further issues.  However, more issues with the liner have arisen.   While working on pool preparations last evening, Town personnel noticed a section of the liner had detached from the wall.  There was also a portion of the liner on the pool floor that was noticeably detached from the pool structure.  Overnight, these defects have become larger as apparently more water has made its way between the liner and the pool structure.  The contractor will need to return to remove the water that is trapped under the liner and make necessary repairs.  This is an extremely disappointing development and another example of the challenges we have experienced with contractors performing construction activities recently.  Town personnel are currently preparing the pool for the contractor’s return to once again conduct repair work on the recently installed liner.  We have experienced a reduction in the number of available companies to perform work on commercial pools over the years and we only received one bid for this initiative.  We will continue to provide updates and open the pool as soon as possible.  The Locust Lane and Barney Road Pools opened Memorial Day Weekend and are open 7 days a week.      

Update 6/22/2023: The contractor needed to return yesterday unexpectedly to repair portions of the project that were completed on Monday and Tuesday morning. This is another unexpected delay as pool staff have been working hard to fill the pool and make other important preparations for opening. As soon as we have concrete opening details they will be posted.

Update 6/20/2023: The contractor is finishing up some last details today and our team is preparing the pool grounds for the season. We will begin filling the pool tomorrow and treating the water to ensure all applicable health standards are met. We will provide regular updates on our progress and the pool will open as soon as we possibly can. Unfortunately, the pool liner replacement project took much longer than the original estimate we were provided. Locust Lane and Barney Road Pools are open 7 days a week for your enjoyment.

Update 6/8/2023: The Country Knolls Pool liner replacement project will be completed next week. When an opening day has been determined it will be posted immediately.