Bath Supervisors consider pool upgrades

Hot Springs, Va. –

Summer is gone, but the Bath Board of Supervisors is thinking about the county’s swimming pools. At Tuesday night’s Bath Board of Supervisors meeting Parks and Recreation Director Mark Nelson gave an update on work needed on the county pools to meet new Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. A zero entry needs to be installed at the Millboro pool.

Nelson is estimating a cost of $80,000 to $150,000 depending on if any new fixtures are added. He said both pools, at Millboro and at Valley, need new plaster. He recommended putting lift chairs at both pools, plastering both pools and enlarging the concrete deck at the Millboro pool to allow for space for zero entry. There has been previous discussion of possibly building a new centrally located pool in the future.

Supervisor Kevin Fry said he didn’t want to spend money to plaster both pools now if there’s the possibility of building a new pool in a few years. Nelson said they may be able to get by with patching the plaster. Supervisor Fry suggested looking at expanding the grassy area at the Millboro pool instead of enlarging the deck. Nelson will get quotes and more information on the patching, lift chairs and expansion of the grassy area for the Supervisors work session on September 25th.

Parks and Recreation Director Mark Nelson also led a discussion on a cash control policy for pool facilities. Recently Valley Pool was broken into and $145 was stolen. Nelson says this has been a recurring problem over the years, and money was stolen from the Millboro pool last summer. He has been working with County Administrator Matt Walker and County Treasurer Pam Webb on how to address the problem.

They have come up with a number of options, some of which would remove cash from the pools entirely. Options include going to free admission or issuing tokens to be used for admission and food sales. Tokens would either be sold through machines at the pools or through the Treasurer’s office. Another option was putting one person in charge of all cash each day, which would require additional staffing, and another option is using passes and concession coupons which could possibly be sold at area stores.

Nelson cautioned that some of the options would cost more than what the county makes on the pools. The Board also discussed an option of making lifeguards responsible for the money. The Board plans to continue the discussion at its work session on the 25th.

Virginia Department of Transportation Resident Administrator Susan Hammond gave an estimate on removal of the flower beds along the street in downtown Hot Springs. Removal would cost approximately $12,000, but could be more. The Board had asked for an estimate on the removal after it received complaints that the flower beds were not being maintained.

The next meeting of the Bath Board of Supervisors is a work session scheduled for Tuesday September 25, at 6 o’clock at the Courthouse in Warm Springs.