>In a March 12 message sent to the email list of the Ridgewood Pool Project (RPP), co-chairs Melinda Cronk and Jane Morales make a number of points based on privileged information obtained through their participation on the Village Council–appointed Graydon Pool Committee. Although The Preserve Graydon Coalition’s repeated requests to the Council for transparency regarding the content of committee meetings were ignored or denied, I chose to abide by the agreement among Committee members not to broadcast what had occurred during the meetings. Now that that trust has been violated, I feel compelled to set the record straight.
Truth-Twist #1: “Essentially Keep a Similar Size and Shape”At a recent Committee meeting, Tom Masterson, owner of Masterson Pools in Ramsey, presented a design for a concrete pool. The March 12 RPP email message states that Masterson’s proposed design would create “a concrete barrier in the existing pond which would essentially keep a similar size and shape to what we have now.” What the RPP fails to mention is that Masterson also told the Committee that two artificial islands would have to be constructed in the middle of Graydon to house the pool machinery. Each island would be approximately the size of the existing island with the sycamore tree, which would remain. In fact, Graydon’s swimming area would not remain “essentially the same,” but would be considerably smaller.
According to the RPP, 6,000 people would have to join in order to repay the enormous bond required to build a new concrete facility. Imagine Graydon on a hot summer Sunday in July: too many people in not enough water (or parking spaces).
Truth-Twist #2: “Disinfected Water Is Paramount”RPP claims that only a concrete pool can be disinfected are untrue.
Chlorine kills only 1% of the bacteria in any swimming pool, leaving 99% to thrive, protected by a naturally occurring substance called biofilm. Recently, Graydon started using AQ-C28, an additive that destroys biofilm naturally. This product improves both the clarity and the cleanliness of the water because it eats away at the biofilm, leaving bacteria exposed to the effects of chlorine. AQ-C28 allows disinfection to occur by ridding the pool of organic material and allowing the chlorine to work more efficiently against bacteria.
At Graydon Pool Committee meetings, the RPP co-chairs have suggested ultraviolet light (UV) and ozone filtration, which are used in some pools, to help reduce the amount of chlorine needed. However, these two modalities could not adequately address the problems caused by biofilm. In addition, they entail considerable maintenance and operational costs.
AQ-C28 was used at Graydon for the first time in 2008. This year, besides being used in the water throughout the swimming season, the biocatalyst will be sprayed over the pool bottom to clear it of organic material before new sand is added. Last year AQ-C28 worked so well that 70% less chlorine was needed at Graydon, reducing costs and the impact of chemicals on swimmers.
The chemical methods to be used at Graydon in 2010 are healthy for both the environment and people. Graydon’s water not only passes but surpasses all tests required by the state to assure public health.
Truth-Twist #3: “Fraction of the Cost”
The proposed concrete pool about which the RPP co-chairs say they are “excited” would cost an estimated $8-12 million. What is that a “fraction of the cost” of, as they call it–the $13.9 million project that they proposed in January 2009? or the $10 million project they proposed on July 1, 2009? Or is it possible that they are dredging up the $22 million price tag of a project discussed prior to both of these proposals, which was rejected so quickly and so long ago that no one even remembers it? Is $8-12 million a fraction—or a distraction? Either way, Ridgewood can’t afford it.
I teach reading, but let’s do the math. Say that their concrete pool cost $10 million and that 6,000 people joined every year for 25 years, as would be needed to pay off the bond. A $150 fee per badge, as the RPP proposes, would then supply $900,000 in revenue each year. Bond payments would be $633,000 per year, leaving $267,000 for maintenance and operational costs.
Such costs at Stonybrook, a concrete pool in Hillsdale of comparable size, totaled $717,100 in 2009. The early bird price at Stonybrook for an individual over 18 will be $388 this year; for age 62 and up, $220. Family discounts are offered.
For a concretized Graydon, $450,000 would be spent each year beyond what was available through badge revenue. Where would the money come from? You guessed it: the taxpayer.
Truth-Twist #4: “Spent Over $750,000 in Ten Years”The RPP email message continues: “Over the past ten years, the Village has invested over $750,000 on Graydon improvements.” They do not mention that most of this figure, obtained by the RPP by special request to the Graydon Pool Committee, is represented by the $650,000 patio project completed in 1999 (more than 10 years ago) and included the construction of the lifeguard office and First Aid building.
Of the $100,000 remaining from the dollar amount cited, $41,000 paid for the fence and a few thousand dollars went for chemicals, which constitute a normal operational expense, not a facility improvement, as “improvements” implies.
The RPP co-chairs clearly wish to give the impression to the public (that is, voters) that lots of money is spent (read: wasted) on Graydon on an ongoing basis. But the buildings and fence are done. The Village is not routinely spending $75,000 a year, as the RPP email message implies, on improvements to Graydon. In addition, the entire list contains only one capital investment item, in 2009, for improving water quality: a diffuser to aerate the water ($17,875). It has only been in the past two years that capital improvements have been made to improve water quality. The word is getting out. March is too early to predict membership numbers for this summer.
Truth-Twist #5: “Membership Continues to Plummet”
Graydon’ s membership never dropped below 4,000 members until the Ridgewood Pool Project began its negative publicity campaign to malign the pool. In fact, the average number of members at all the local concrete pools for the 2009 season was 4,000 members.
The RPP became official in the winter of 2007. They marched in the Fourth of July parade and set up tables at Graydon to advertise their cause. That summer, Graydon’s membership did plummet from 4,100 in 2006 to 2,800 in 2007. Never before had Graydon experienced such a dramatic reduction in membership. Coincidence?
The RPP has sabotaged Graydon membership in many ways. Since this post is getting long, only one additional point follows.
In March 2009, a flyer was disseminated to the public at the RPP’s open house entitled “Graydon Health Concerns—Fact or Fiction?” This flyer was filled with half-truths, at best.
In the flyer, the RPP stated that it is “essential that the level of chlorine be limited” in Graydon because when “chlorine is added to water with organic material (such as the algae and decaying leaves in Graydon) the reaction causes trihalomethanes (THMs).” The concern is that THMs, which are absorbed through the skin, are carcinogenic.
Organic material is present in all pools, including concrete pools, and includes body oils, perspiration, urine, and more. Combine all this organic material with the huge amount of chlorine used in a concrete pool, especially a small, crowded one, and you have quite a nice THM cocktail.
While Graydon must test for THMs each month because some of its water seeps into the ground, concrete pools are not required to test for THMs at all. According to the medical literature, THM concentrations in swimming pools may exceed the EPA limit several times over. The formation of THMs in pool water is a growing public health concern.
Graydon’s test results for THMs showed “none detected” in both June and July 2009. In August the THM level was 35.2 parts per billion (ppb), more than “none” but still very safe and less than the 80 ppb permissible by both the State of New Jersey and the federal Environmental Protection Agency in drinking water. And that increase occurred only because of an undetected leak (we’re told it was a hairline crack) in the chlorine pump. This will not happen again because a chlorine flow monitor will be installed this year.
This post barely touches on the RPP’s steady manipulation of facts over several years to scare people into thinking they want or need a concrete pool. After reading it, do you believe the RPP is working in the best interest of the Village?
Suzanne Kelly
Member, Village Council Graydon Pool Committee
Co-Chair, The Preserve Graydon Coalition
