With Very Tentative Plans in Place, Borough Prepares to Seek Out Prices for Pool Renovations

Picture this: If it doesn't cost too much money, the kiddie pool in Memorial Park could be moved from its current location, elevated to the same level as the main pool and transformed into a rollicking good time, complete with an umbrella in the middle that sprays water on playing children.

The current kiddie pool could be removed and replaced with an area, also elevated to the same level as the current pool, that would be adorned with tables and beach chairs. Children could take a break by coming over to that spot and getting some Italian ices, which could potentially be sold in the lounge area. In the meantime, they could play table tennis, since there could be tables set up next to the lounge chairs.

All of that is far from reality. But those plans were discussed at a Memorial Park and Pool Committee meeting Tuesday night.

Borough Engineer Vince DeNave will seek out prices for those renovations, which would include the lounge area and the kiddie pool replacement. The kiddie pool would replace a swingset adjacent to the current pool. All three primary pool components—the current four-lane pool, the kiddie pool and the lounge area—would be on the same level, which would eliminate the need for members to walk up and down stairs between the two pools.

Piping within the main pool would also be redone.

These plans are part of an effort to spruce up the area. Committee Chairman Gerard Malanga said borough residents had largely expressed a desire for a nicer pool in a recent survey.

"If you build a better pool, people will come," Malanga said.

There is no guarantee the money exists for those renovations. There is about $480,000 in a fund that is earmarked for Memorial Park renovations, and about $300,000 of that money will likely go toward the park itself, not toward the pool. That would likely leave about $180,000 for pool renovations without other revenue sources, although officials said they may see if they can take money from the borough's $800,000 Open Space fund.

The $300,000 will tentatively be used to expand the park to include an additional baseball diamond and a full-size, multi-purpose field where soccer, lacrosse and field hockey could be played. It would also be used to add an additional 25 parking spaces to the area, though that number could be reduced to 19 over the coming weeks.

Officials said the additional parking spaces were needed to make the area more user-friendly, but said they would not necessarily alleviate parking problems in the area, since they said more people might drive because of the additional parking.

If parking spots aren't added, DeNave said, the borough would likely need to begin a campaign encouraging residents to walk to the area.

"You're trying to make this a destination, whether it is the pool, the playground, the field area," DeNave said.

Additional signs would be placed in the area to direct people to borough parking lots.

Not everyone on the committee agreed with the park expansion. Committee member Martin Selzer said he doesn't feel as if the field should be utilized for all sports at all hours like, say, Lum Avenue Field.

"I think that the multi-purpose field is really going to change the nature of that park," Selzer said, suggesting that Shepard Kollock Park, for example could potentially be better suited to such activity.

The rest of the committee didn't agree. Malanga said it was important for sports to be played in the center of the borough. And Joint Recreation Assistant Director Carol Nauta said the fields that the township and borough have now are overutilized as is.

"We need fields for people to stay in this town," Malanga said.

But Selzer said he feels he speaks for some in the borough who feel the fields are getting to be a bit too fancy.

Recently, he said, he was out for a run when he happened upon Haas Field at Chatham Middle School. He looked at the turf field, then saw the new softball field just below that was christened just over one month ago.

"It's like being in Yankee Stadium down there," he said. "I don't want to be in Yankee Stadium."

The committee will discuss DeNave's estimates at its next meeting in two weeks (it has been meeting every other Tuesday). The Borough Council must sign off on any recommendation it makes.

The park renovations will also likely include upgrades to the existing basketball court—the Chatham Athletic Foundation, according to committee member and Councilman James Lonergan, may be able to provide money for that. Committee members also discussed potentially putting an unpaved walking track around the field's perimeter.