MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—Local leaders cut the ribbon on the newly renovated Mountain Lake Park Pool in Warwick on June 24, presenting a new third pool, redone concrete, and improved mechanical components.
Walter said there were issues with the concrete rim of the pool deteriorating and crumbling into the pool. The filtration system was also more than 20 years old and required manual adjustment of chlorine input. This necessitated more manpower, and mistakes were made involving human error. The area has two pools, one that is 7 feet deep at its maximum and one that is 4 feet 6 inches maximum.
The renovation included repouring concrete and creating a new beach-type kids’ pool, which slopes down from the concrete, bottoms out at 1 foot 6 inches deep, and features a few water jets that bubble out of the floor. This pool is designed to accommodate toddlers and the elderly.
The mechanical upgrades make the chlorine balancing automatic, which Warwick Town Supervisor Jesse Dwyer said is more efficient and reduces required work hours. Skoufis said the efficiency will save the town money running the pools.
The pools are generally open to Warwick residents from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and are the only municipality-operated pools in the town of about 32,000 people.
Royal Pools Construction, the New Hampton-based pool construction company that was contracted for the job, donated to the project as it was being put together over the winter.
“We donated a lot of our time instead of charging extra and a lot of concrete work,” company owner Greg DePuy told The Epoch Times.
DePuy previously lived in Warwick for 15 years and thought that contributing to the project was a good thing to do. He said he enjoyed being able to work with the town and that, despite the cold winter conditions, it was a good project.
Skoufis applauded the town’s quick work on the project and said that he likes helping with park improvements.
“I love these types of projects,“ he said. ”The supervisor knows what types of requests to send to my office. There are some that I tell them, ‘Go find money elsewhere,’ and there are some that I really jump at the opportunity to try and identify state funds to be helpful with, and this is certainly one of them.”
Dwyer said later: “I do know the senator’s requests, and I do know what he’s looking for, especially when I ask him about sewers, and he says, ‘Go somewhere else for sewer money. Do you have a park that needs improvement?’
“I know exactly what he’s looking to fund, and we’ve already been able to fund multiple projects, and we get them done really quickly.”
