Chatham Township Committee Tables Resolution Authorizing Bids for Colony Pool Repairs; Residents Say Don't Change Aesthetics

CHATHAM, NJ -- The special Zoom Call meeting was scheduled so that bids could go out on repairs to the crumbling walls at the Colony Pool Club, but the Chatham Township Committee pumped the brakes on the resolution Tuesday night and carried over the vote to its next regular meeting set for Aug. 13.

The nearly two-hour meeting included a discussion on the safety and aesthetics provided with the current sloped walls compared with traditional vertical walls used at most traditional public pools.

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There were 39 residents tuned into the meeting and those who spoke during public commentary portions were in favor of keeping the sloped walls for both safety and aesthetic reasons. The Committee generally agreed on a "replace in kind" approach with a "straight wall" on the lap lane.

The results of a resident survey , released earlier on Tuesday before the meeting, 66.1% of respondents favored a repair design that matched the existing walls.

Resident Maureen Kelly called in to say she was "unhappy with the rushed nature" of the special meeting and asked why it was only on Zoom. She suggested that a public meeting held at the Colony Pool Club would have given the public a better understanding of what the choices for changes are.

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Resident Jessica Romeo offered that people join the Colony Pool Club for the relaxed, easygoing feeling that the current setting provides. She said that the 90-degree angles of vertical walls would not be as relaxing.

Pool member Erika Lopes-Leman admitted she wasn't a pool expert, but saw no reason to make drastic changes to the design of the Colohy Pool. She added that sharp angles would not benefit the safety of the children.

Two Colony Pool lifeguards, Asher Robson and Dante DiTuri called in to say, from their experience, it's safer to have sloped walls than a vertical edge.

Several other callers said that a vertical wall would lead to kids diving in from the edge and possibly getting injured by not knowing how deep it was because of the murky water.

Chatham Township Mayor Stacey Ewald wanted to move forward and vote to send out bids for the work while Township Engineer John Ruschke tweaked the changes to the plans discussed at the meeting. The idea is to start the work in the fall so that the pool will be ready to open next Memorial Day.

But Committee member Mark Lois , a member of the Colony Pool Advisory Committee, argued that the process should be slowed down so that the public could see what the final plans look like and be able to weigh in. Part of the exchange between Ewald and Lois can be viewed below.

Committee member Marty McHugh also wanted to hold off on the vote so that he could get more feedback on the proposed plans (see below). He also said there were still details of the design plan that had yet to be decided.

Because no member of the committee introduced the resolution on the bids, it was tabled to the Aug. 13 regular meeting.

According to Lois, the committee has already allocated approximately $300,000 for the repairs in its capital budget.

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