Bid Decision Still Pending on Pleasantville Pool House Work

Though the swimming season is soon coming to close, discussion over renovations to Pleasantville’s pool house continues to heat up.

Last week the village board scrutinized how to handle repairs to the facility with the hope of completing work during the off season. While Village Administrator Patricia Dwyer said the village has $400,000 in available funds for the renovation, trustees must still sort out how much they want to spend on the project and whether there is enough money available.

Originally, Lothrop Associates submitted a design to the village, but a local architect, Jim Coleman, who was in charge of prepping the bid documents, proposed another design that he said could save the village money. Dwyer said the possible savings was substantial enough to take a look at what Coleman had offered.

Dwyer added a determination would hopefully be made in the next couple of weeks, so the village can accept a bid and start the work this fall at the Lake Street facility.

“We would like to be in contract by late October,” Dwyer said.

During the Aug. 12 work session, Trustee Mindy Berard said she believes the project is back to square one after the most recent layout was presented by Coleman.

Berard said originally Lothrop gave the board an unsatisfactory design but then returned with one that would gut one side of the pool house where the bathrooms are located, which she concluded is necessary.

But now Coleman’s plan, the one that would be sent out to bid, doesn’t match up with what Lothrop Associates proposed.

“So that’s why I think we’re back to stage one,” Berard said. “That we already rejected that (Lothrop’s first) plan and now we’re looking at it again after we already approved the better plan, so I’m very frustrated here.”

Berard stressed that it’s important to complete the project correctly because the renovations are being paid for from pool use fees that are scheduled to increase next year. She also said she hopes the pool isn’t losing users because of the pool house’s deteriorated condition.

“Let’s give people what they want and need and that’s a 21st century structure,” Berard said. “Not a re-crafted 19th century structure.”

Mayor Peter Scherer noted the village has a limited amount of money and the board is trying to “get the best bang for our buck.”

Scherer said he fears the bathroom renovations might cost more than $400,000. And while he understands the bathrooms are a priority, other parts of the pool house also have to be fixed.

“There’s no question we have to make improvements to the pool house and the bathrooms are high on that list, probably the highest on the list,” Scherer said.

Originally, the board wanted to split the project into two phases. The first phase would focus on reconfiguring the building’s interior in order to have the pool director’s office closer to the pool. It also included new lighting and painting.

Phase Two would be a larger and costlier undertaking. That work would include new plumbing, ventilation, showers and stalls and improvements to other fixtures.

The board previously rejected a bid over the winter where Phase One was too expensive. As a result, the original target date to have some of the construction finished by the time the pool house opened this past Memorial Day wasn’t met.