Hochman: Pool use comes with pricetag

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on September 21, 2007

The town's aquatics center at the middle school pool has featured daily swimming classes for youngsters, open swims for families and weekly water aerobics for adults during the fall, winter and spring.

But residents accustomed to using the middle school pool after the town's two outdoor pools close for the season may have to wait a little longer this year for that opportunity, as the town and schools continue to find a way to reopen the facility.

School officials earlier this year decided to close the pool for most of the year as a way to reduce costs in a budget that was already eliminating teacher and staff positions and physical education classes, and notified the town it would have to pay in full for any programs it would offer at the pool.

<h4>Breaking even a must</h4>

Superintendent Jere Hochman, in a presentation before the Select Board Sept. 10, said, that if the pool were open for town use, the schools must at least break even.

"As noted in presentations and communications throughout the budget process last year, the School Committee and the Regional Schools administration stated the middle school pool would be used in FY08 only by the high school swim team in the winter season," Hochman said.

According to figures provided by Hochman, the total pool costs have gone up from $47,966 in budget year 2004 to $85,647 last year. And even though the town's Leisure Services and Supplemental Education department's use of the pool was estimated at $54,655, it only paid the schools $30,000 for this use.

Now, the town has to find a way to meet these costs.

Town Administrator Larry Shaffer has characterized this as negotiations that are continuing this week. He said there's a possibility that a portion of the aquatics director salary will be redirected toward this payment to the schools.

Currently, the town is without an aquatics program coordinator, which has averaged about 30 hours per week for the year. At $33,377, some of this money remaining could be used to increase the negotiated fee payment for the school.

"I'm confident we'll have a very productive conversation with the superintendent on this topic," Shaffer said Monday.

LSSE coordinator Linda Chalfant said it is vital that an agreement on the fee be reached so that the thousands of people who use the middle school pool will be able to do so.

"We've felt this is an essential core program for the community," Chalfant said. "It's become clear that it's of prime importance, a resource for the entire community, and it's something we've got to preserve."

Last year, the pool opened to the community Sept. 23, a typical opening date because of the need to recruit lifeguards, and closed May 19.

In between, 4,028 people participated in the open swims, while 581 were registered for the swim lessons.

Though both the open swim attendance and swim lesson attendance were down in fiscal year 2007, off by a combined 1,595 from the previous year, Chalfant attributes this to a cut in hours, from 1,030 to 592 hours, as well as inconsistency in the heating of the pool for the first two months it was open. She said the aquatic center otherwise remains a strong program.

The offerings have included swimming lessons for toddlers and preschoolers, lifeguard and water safety classes, private swimming lessons, birthday parties and adult lap swims.

Town Meeting member Vince O'Connor, of Summer Street, said he wonders how swimming programs can continue without an aquatics director hired to oversee them.

Shaffer said the town will only be able to craft a managerial response once it is determined how much money remains for the aquatics director.

The uncertainty in the town's pools, which began this summer with the late opening of the War Memorial Pool, led to the departure of the staff member in charge of aquatics.

"It's an important position because swimming in important to the community, and the community is telling us they want this available," Chalfant said.

For Amherst residents, the cost for the school year for open swim for families is $230, while adults pay $140 and seniors and teens pay $105. For birthday parties, up to 20 children cost $130, and feature a certified lifeguard as a party planner.

The drop in water aerobics charges $6 per session.

The fees charged have been designed to a cover all the town's direct costs for the pool, including the hiring of lifeguards and instructors, the salary of the aquatics program coordinator and the $30,000 negotiated fee, which has gone up by $10,000 in the last four years despite the reduction in hours the pool has been available.

The fees have been supplemented by payments from the Amherst Tritons swim team and fundraisers, as well as some tax support from the town.