Some Montclair residents whose hopes of a cooling swim in one of the town’s pools were dashed over the past two scorching-hot weekends are seeking new waters elsewhere. Due to municipal budget cuts, the local pools aren’t due to open until June 24.
Many families have been scouting around for cool and wet alternatives and making their disgruntlement known about the late opening at Montclair’s pools and the proposed scaling back in hours, if not the impending rise in fees. The pools will close each day by 7:00pm, an hour earlier than they used to in previous years.
“I … have been complaining to Pat Brechka (Montclair Township’s recreation director since the change was announced,” Baristanet reader Lisa Cassidy wrote. “Instead of having the public pool hours be 1-7 pm, I propose 2-8 pm. This change will preserve the cost cutting AND will allow working people to use the pool during the week.”
In defense, Brechka, who is also director of cultural affairs, said, “It wasn’t my decision personally; we were told to make the cuts, which were among a number of other cuts including our July 4th celebrations and First Night.”
“We would love to be open more for the public, but the (scalebacks) had to be made,” Brechka said. “We have definitely had complaints, and people have said that they would look at other options.”
Indeed, some locals have been investigating the pools of neighboring towns, and even further afield, such as Chatham township’s Colony Pool and Tennis Club in Morris County, which had a free open house on Sunday for potential new members, and the Highlands Natural Pool in Ringwood, NJ.
Highlands has a stream-fed chemical-free pond with stone retaining walls and a safe area for kids, set among poplars and evergreens.
Catherine Belonogoff, a Montclair resident with two young children who visited both Highlands and Colony Pool on Sunday, decided to join the former for $420 a year ($340 for existing family members).
Said Belonogoff, “There are no chemicals in the pool and it’s a place where kids can be among nature and appreciate nature.”
I visited the Colony Pool and Tennis Club on Sunday, intrigued by the sand-bottomed spring-fed pool. There was ample parking, a little man-made beach, beach toys, playground and a cafe near the pool, which had divided kids-safe shallow areas as well as a cordoned-off area up to 12 feet deep. The atmosphere was very relaxing but I doubted I could visit it often enough to make membership worthwhile, and it’s a half-hour drive from Montclair without traffic. A family pool membership costs $425 and an individual membership is $215.
Among neighboring towns’ pools, Cedar Grove accepts non-residents, at nearly twice the fee of residents ($884 per non-resident family; $492 per resident family), and non-residents must be sponsored by a resident pool member. Verona Pool is residents only, with family membership at $395 and individual membership at $255.
Glen Ridge Pool, which opened during the Memorial Day extended weekend, also accepts non-residents and has no waiting list. Membership hopefuls need to pay a one-time non-refundable joiner’s fee of $1,250, as well as annual summer dues of $750 per family and $350 per individual.
The pool appeared to enjoy a fillip in interest this year, possibly due to spillover interest from neighboring towns such as Montclair.
GR Pool’s communications VP Paige Sato said, “Our membership at the Glen Ridge pool is running even or slightly higher than last year at this time.”
The pool’s administrator Debi Henry said, “Memorial Day weekend was a record-breaking one for us; we were so busy and signed up 8 new members, which we had never done before” in such a short period of time.
“It’s looking positive this year; we’ve definitely had more and more interest from neighboring towns, and there’s also been less resignations than last year – about half the number – probably because fewer people are moving to other locations and maybe because the economy is a little better too,” Henry said.
For those who prefer a private swim club (ie. swimming in the same cold water for a lot more money), there’s the Bradford Bath and Tennis Club and Montclair Beach Club.
At Montclair’s town pools though, there’s welcome news at least for those with concerns about the proposed fee hikes.
“We still do financial assistance for anyone who needs it and we don’t turn anyone away,” Brechka said.
I am continually blown away by communities in this area that, along with levying taxes that can only be called crippling, also nickel and dime their residents for every, single thing they want to do. Parking, toll roads, community activities — you name it and there is a fee. It is almost as bad as the airlines. The only thing that I find more amazing, is that we take it. Unbelievable. Other parts — wait, let me correct myself — just about every other part of this country provides many, many more services at taxes that are pennies on the dollar compared to Nothern New Jersey. Can you make NYC salaries there? Probably not to the dollar, but if your housing money goes 50% further, who needs the NYC salary? And proximity to NYC? On many days, it is faster to fly to NY from the middle of the country than it is to drive in from western Baristaville. I am waiting for the local communities to start charging a sprinkler tax if the kiddies want to cool off that way. I probably shouldn’t give them ideas…
That the town charges anything at all for the pools is an outrage, and the 5 bucks additional levy this year just rubs salt in the wound. Instead of charging for the pools, why not just have them open one day per year — on July 4. Maybe then we won’t miss the fireworks.
Conan, I wonder if those other states pay road toll takers $100,000 or offer teachers free health insurance for life?
Face it, public employees in this state don’t work for us; we work for them.
That is a point, RoC — not one I can honestly answer — last couple of places I lived didn’t have toll roads at all. Or parking meters. :>} I don’t know what their health insurance / pension policies are, either, but I suspect they are nowhere near as taxing as ours — pun intended. Intersting to see if the NYC Teachers’ Union calls Blomberg’s bluff… if they cave, you know the cops and firemen will be next.
The whole road toll system is an employment program.
Eliminate the entire system and pave the roads with a gas tax like any modern state. I’ll bet 25% of the tolls taken pay for the taking of tolls.
Conan & Walleroo,
Sure, the GR pool is expensive, that’s because it is self-funded, which I think is just as it should be. A pool is hardly a necessity. Why should the municipal taxpayers (who already pay outrageous property taxes to provide for things that are a necessity) be forced to pay even higher taxes to subsidize a pool?
Of course, as illustrated by the story above, another advantage of being self-funded is that you don’t have to worry about municipal budget cuts…
I totally agree with Carl. Pools and skating rinks should be self funded.
Where was the cost analysis presented on this decision? Why not close one pool all summer and cut hours on others as the next step if really needed? We could have closed the Essex pool and kept Mountainside and Nishuane. Closing all pools for 1 month does not seem like the smart way to go. Where was the simple cost analysis of what needed to be saved from the pool budget and the various options to do it. Another example of no communication..no transparency. On the surface, there seems to be no difference between losing 1 pool for 3 months…or 3 pools for 1 month. Wrong call.
(Martin must live near the Mountainside pool)
RoC,
When you take everything into account, it’s well over 50%. But the machine politicians love toll roads because tolls are a great way to generate patronage jobs, slush money and “voluntary” campaign contributions.
Comparing GR to Montclair only goes so far. GR is relatively homogeneous. If you want to swim, you pay. Here in Montclair, we taxpayers don’t like to draw this line because it means some people may have to go without. So we pay for things, like pools, that are nice to have, and charge ridiculously low prices for them. If we can’t afford to do have a pool that costs next to nothing to attend, we would rather everybody sweat it out together.
See, Carl, how egalitarian we are?
Where was the cost analysis presented on this decision?
Martin, how many times do you need to get whacked on the knuckles before you figure out to put your hands in your pockets?
Carl,
But with toll roads as with pools, if you don’t use it then you don’t pay for it. I don’t have a problem paying the tolls on the Parkway or Turnpike. Both roads are well maintained and relatively cheap at least compared with the NYC crossings.
I for one was very glad they did NOT close “my” pool (Essex). As I said before, I would have gladly paid even double the badge fee for my kids if it meant keeping “my” pool open. It seems that the measly $5 increase was just enough to keep it running, but unfortunately it really shortchanged the operating days & hours for all the pools.
Personally, I would have a hard time coughing up $1,250 to join a pool and then another $350 per kid every year. So while I’m disappointed by the Montclair pools’ days and hours, I’m grateful that our town is an “equal swimming opportunity” kind of place.
“We could have closed the Essex pool and kept Mountainside and Nishuane.”
That wont happen, ever. There are hundreds of kids that use Essex for camps.
Frankly, it shouldnt have to happen. If it does, consider my membership cancelled. My neighbors told me the same. With people quitting the pool system, the overall revenue goes down, making it more expensive for the remaining members.
Even when I do go the pools, they are so crowded that I cant even swim, nor get a chair. Its like a punk rock show, with bodies flying everywhere.
I just cant for the life of me understand why they don’t just charge more.
Baskerville’s has her bs theory. Its that some people who cant afford an extra $50 (and yet could get financial assistance) shouldn’t have to ask because its embarrassing.
Like the pool pass is a different color.
My family had no pool last weekend because the council didn’t want to inconvenience a few people.
I couldn’t be more fed up with their lack of conviction over anything.
Me too, Kay.
yes, we can all take pride that were are also an equal 11% tax increase kind of place…
Carl,
BTW, one reason to pay for things on a community level is the deductibility of municipal taxes. The $350 I pay for a membership in the GR community pool is not tax deductable however if the costs were imbedded in my property taxes, the costs would be. Yeah, I know, not everybody wants join the pool and It would be unfair to saddle the pool costs on an already overburdened tax base, but still something to think about.
Its funny to me that people will say that socialized (subsidized) services will not lead to rationing and poor quality services in exchange for more coverage.
MMM,
I once felt as you do, but our toll roads are so corruption-enabling and (especially the barrier tolls) inefficient, dangerous and environmentally unfriendly – that I changed my mind, and now advocate paying for the toll roads with the gas tax (the big problems there are more fixable).
it’s absurdly wasteful. Millions and millions of dollars spent on a collection infrastructure, when we could collect the money at the gas pump.
ROC – as a matter of fact, I probably closer to Essex pool. Regardless, eliminating the middle pool would seem to logistically cause the least difficulty for residents the most residents. However, the other poster is right — I neglected to consider the camp factor if that is indeed really the case at Essex. If many camp kids walk to essex..that that has to be considered. Nonetheless, this is precisely the kind of open decision-making that should have been undertaken and publicized. Cuts clearly have to happen. We just need an intelligent process to help get there.
When my niece was a little girl, for a short time she wanted to be a toll collector. When we let her know she wouldn’t actually get to keep the money, she changed her mind. Perhaps we were wrong about that, when you add salaries and lifelong compensation it’s probably not a bad deal.
As far as the pools go, I won’t be buying a pass this year because I’ll never get there by 7:00. I would gladly pay $5 or $10 or $15 more for the pools to be open longer hours and to be self sustaining. For the small minority of people who cannot afford the additional money it’s a non-issue since they can get free passes.
Honestly, why does the town have to fund pools and skating rinks with our tax dollars?
Yes, but only the subsidized portion would be, and only if the AMT didn’t get you. Besides, it’s a moot point – as you know, we would never have gotten the pool approved if it had required taxpayer $ – and I think it’s worked out very well for the taxpayers and the pool users. It would have been better (and I’d still be a member) if they had gone with our original, larger proposal, but – such is life.
“When my niece was a little girl, for a short time she wanted to be a toll collector. When we let her know she wouldn’t actually get to keep the money, she changed her mind.”
Beautiful! I think they just fired a couple of tollbooth employees up in Massachusetts who were pocketing large amounts of what they collected. I believe it was the old Connecticut Turnpike — that section of I-95 and I-395 that runs from Greenwhich into Worcester, MA — that used to have toll boths every 10 miles. The traffic that was generated, punctuated by some horrific fatal accidents because of the toll-both back-ups, convinced the state to drop all tolls from the road back in the 70’s, I think.
ROC,
“Its funny to me that people will say that socialized (subsidized) services will not lead to rationing and poor quality services in exchange for more coverage.”
Well said and so relevant!
The pool should be self funded, not an “equal swimming opportunity” kind of place. Weller-Demming and Baskerville think that people who could not afford the cost would be discouraged or embarrassed to ask for Aid from the town. They have stated this publicly. Its a cop-out. Pools are not core services like Police,Fire, and Education. Just like the Senior Center, SkatePark, New Police Parking Lot, Ice Rink, Fireworks, First Night, etc.
Sad, sad state of affairs this current councils priorities are!
Again, the decision of our leaders is based on “The Have’s vs Have Not’s”.
Put my family on the list of those not joining this year because of the 7:00 closing. The pool is useless M-F for commuters who are often not home until 7:00 or later. I will pay per visit if we want to go on the occasional weekend.
Eliminate the entire system and pave the roads with a gas tax like any modern state.
OMG! Do my ears deceive me? ROC is calling for a gas tax? That will not play well on talk radio, my friend.
Many very good points made here!
Fact is the Council was so busy debating the “fairness” of increasing pool fees by 58 cents that little time was spent even looking at the shorter season and reduced hours!
I have heard from many people who would have gladly paid more to have the pool open longer, but in looking to help “some” we wound up “not helping” others.
Many, on and off the Council, believe we as a community have to take care of those least fortunate in the Community. The thinking I’ve heard is that “the wealthy” can always join a pool club, or a tennis club, or send their kids to an expensive sleep away camp but one of the responsibilities of government is to make sure “all” can enjoy pools, camps, etc.
Well Cary, if the “wealthy” cannot use the pools because the hours do not favor working people, the is it fair for our tax dollars to subsidize pools we cannot use? Honestly, I understand the concept, but it is not the responsibility of government to provide free pools for some at the expense of others who already do pay for the same pools with their tax dollars but are unable to use them now.
Cary’s right! I’m looking right now at my copy of the US Constitution and it is right there in black and white — Article IV, Section 2, right after all of the boring stuff about privleges and immunities, blah, blah, blah — it is in the recognizable style of James Madison, and it reads:
“One of the responsibiliies of government shall be to make certain that all citizens may enjoy pools and camps.”
Its settled! If you don’t like it, move to Russia!
Fact is the Council was so busy debating the “fairness” of increasing pool fees by 58 cents that little time was spent even looking at the shorter season and reduced hours!
What a bunch of knuckleheads. They couldn’t govern their way through a turnstile.
“The thinking I’ve heard is that “the wealthy” can always join a pool club, or a tennis club, or send their kids to an expensive sleep away camp but one of the responsibilities of government is to make sure “all” can enjoy pools, camps, etc.”
Therein lies the precise problem.
If you think publicly funded entertainment is a matter of social justice, don’t complain about 11% tax increases.
Where’s the “cost analysis”? Who’s going to do that? And, why should Township management even bother with it, when there are much bigger budget fish to fry (like schools). Frankly, as a long-time user of Essex Pool (“my pool”), I’m glad they raised the fare. Hasn’t been increased in 10 years. Less hours? not welcome,but I understand how budgets work. Stuff costs money. And I do not want the pools being subsidised by non-swimmers. Let’s say there are 12 swimmable weekends, and one day per week, when I could realisitically swim. 36 days of access for $60? Comes out to
Why is is that ONE can’t handle multiple towns.
ONE Super for Schools.
ONE Police Chief
ONE Fire Chief
ONE DPW Head – (and dump the county all together)
ONE B.A. – (so no Town Manager or keep the B.A. – one stays – the other goes)
And lastly, make the libraries start charging fees to cover their own little world – or else close the doors. They also have their own Administrations. EACH TOWN. 527? Thats cash.
You’re on to something, kidnextdoor!
How about ONE ruler for the country!
Do away with all these governors and sentators and mayors and such! That’s cash!
50 states? Hundreds of thousands of towns and cities? Waste, I say!
I am willing, by the way, to take on the mantle of this awesome responsibility.
Let the savings begin.
I don’t agree with the thinking that requires, pools, tennis courts, etc. as a “function of government.”
I think we have been doing a pretty good job in Montclair, but when our pool rates, or camp rates, are 1/2 those of comparable towns, when we haven’t had an increase in ten years, then we have to correct it.
It’s a big discussion. How much do we tax everyone in order to provide for the “public good.” Take a look at the Community Development Block Grants, for example. That’s taxpayer money going for “a good cause.”
How much do we/should we spend on “good causes?” What constitutes a “good cause?” After all there’s nothing preventing people from reaching into their own pockets and donating to the causes of their own choice.
“one of the responsibilities of government is to make sure “all” can enjoy pools, camps, etc.”
Therein lies the precise problem.”
This is a real snap shot of the prevailing sentiment on the council. This is why they are ,and will continue to be failures in their duty of holding costs down. They are crusaders.
No one on this council seems to be looking out for me, the average taxpayer. Im just the check writer here, other than that, I should get out of the way and let the council cure the worlds ills.
Like supremely useful artsy green bike racks.
“How much do we/should we spend on “good causes?” What constitutes a “good cause?” After all there’s nothing preventing people from reaching into their own pockets and donating to the causes of their own choice.”
The answer is nothing. The function of town government is to provide basic services, not play Robin Hood.
That’s because the taxpayer does not show up at meetings to complain about it. I would venture to bet that if you took all of the residents over the past two years who have made public comment about these oppressive and unfair tax increases, it would not equal the total number of municipal employees that spoke at a single town council meeting to protest the library budget cuts.
Cary, tell everyone here how much money would and still could be saved through a reappraisal of our towns property values. This is something my wife and I have been pushing the town council to do for years. What you will find is that it could have saved the tax payer almost as much as Chris Christie has cut in state aid. Meanwhile, the mayor and his followers on the council continue to rant and rave that Montclair can’t possibly run with the Governor’s cuts in aid and have applied for a waiver to raise our taxes over the mandated cap. Revenue is always mysteriously missing from any of the Fried Five’s financial equations.
This sort of reminds me of a conversation hubby and I had a few years back, when “W” was issuing us rebate checks. People were soooo excited to “get money from the government”! But I was p.o.’ed because if they could afford to send me back $500 (or whatever it was) then that meant they were *collecting* too much in the first place! Same thing with NJ’s property tax rebates. Give me a break. But then hubby so wisely pointed out that we pay and pay, and most of the money gets wasted anyway (yeah he’s jaded), so why not get a check instead. The whole cycle is just ridiculous.
At my house, we are keeping ourselves afloat but can by no means be considered the “haves”. I truly appreciate the fact that my kids can enjoy the pool this summer and I don’t have to re-mortgage the house for them to do so. I could have swung a bigger fee increase though, and probably many folks (even the “have-nots”) could have chipped in more than $5.
This comes back to the point that I pay my taxes, and I am always glad when I see what I’m getting back for it. I am glad Montclair’s Finest and Bravest come when I call; glad that my kids are getting a better education here than they would be if we lived in my SoCal hometown; glad that the library was open on Sat. when my girl had to do some research. Not glad when money is wasted on things like eminent domain for no good reason, moving football fields, wayfinding signs, fancy logos, and yes, bike racks that don’t fit enough bikes.
Cary. Good points. The Council needs a business plan: decide what it wants to do, and, importantly, what it doesn’t want to do. Schhols? police? fire? clean streets? fine. pools? rec dept? channel 34? may not be our core line of business. If so, THEN SAY SO, and cancel/reduce these other items and concentrate EXPLICITLY on what the Council thinks the township’s business is.
” I am glad Montclair’s Finest and Bravest come when I call; glad that my kids are getting a better education here than they would be if we lived in my SoCal hometown; glad that the library was open on Sat. when my girl had to do some research. Not glad when money is wasted on things like eminent domain for no good reason, moving football fields, wayfinding signs, fancy logos, and yes, bike racks that don’t fit enough bikes.”
Translation:
“I’m glad they spent 200,000,000 on the stuff I like and I’m totally pissed they spent 700,000 on the stuff I don’t!”
or put another way:
“honey, I lost my job, our expenses now exceed our income by $8000 per month.”
“ok, let’s cut yogurt, starbucks and the NY times….”
Unfortunately Kay all that little stuff doesn’t add up to nearly enough…
So… what should we do?
Short of vaporizing all budgets from Trenton all the way down and starting over from scratch? Is it wrong to be pissed at all the money I send to Claremont Ave, Trenton and DC, while I struggle further into the quicksand?
Cranky has a good idea – decide what’s truly important and what’s not, and go from there.
Kay,
If we were really serious about getting our financial house in order, we’d close the pools entirely (or make them self funding) and the library, and cut more out of the schools, and furlough more municipal workers and end subsidized daycare center construction, fire all the school substance abuse counselors, etc. etc.
But we’re not, so we won’t.
We’ll do what they did in Greece. Kick the can a little further down the road and have another helping of wishful thinking.
Someone will happen along and tell us how “courageously” government has slimmed down and in the next breath day dream about how nice “Victorian” tables and chairs would be at Edgemont park.
I hate to be a pessimist, but default is probably the state’s fate. Perhaps the country’s (n some for or another).
The “bill” for liberalism is coming due. What discipline we lack will be enforced by the reality of the pocketbook.
😀 The victorian tables & chairs image made me laugh!
You’re right of course, but slashin’ and burnin’ begets a lot of yellin’, so the coin will indeed be passed. And eventually when the budget ends up like the state of California’s, citizens will look at each other with complete and utter puzzlement, even THEN no one will get it.
I still think vaporizing would work.
(I was just glad the library was open on Saturday. Otherwise there would be no getting that report done, and I felt like I was getting a little something for my tax dollar.)
“Kick the can a little further down the road and have another helping of wishful thinking.”
Interesting that you have this perspective except when it comes to the environment. Hmmmmm….maybe not now that I think about it since the environmental “bill” for libertarianism is habitat degradation/loss to protect your pocketbook.
Another non sequitor from the victim studies instructor, tluddite.
Funny you would comment that my post is a non sequitur after your disturbing word salad post on the open thread yesterday. Also odd considering that this story is about the reduced pool hours in Montclair but the thread quickly moved to the finances of toll roads. (Although I am 100% with ROC on his position re: the gas tax.)
But sure, let me comment on the story at hand. I am with Martin and agree it makes more sense to close one of the pools for a month. Camps don’t start until school is out so it would not have been a problem for most of June. It’s not that large of a town and the “inconvenience” of having to drive a few more minutes for those that live near the pool that is closed is really a small, inconsequential price to pay to allow the pools to be used by all.
I believe that Recreation and Cultural Affairs is a vital part of the town government and I don’t mind that a portion of my taxes goes toward helping to maintain the overall mental well being of the lovely citizens of this town by providing wonderful community resources such as the pools and green spaces.
I also think the pools should be affordable to those in the lower socioeconomic classes because it can logically be argued that these people may need it most. However, I think that the fees should have been increased–they are ludicrously low. The argument that those that need assistance would be too embarrassed and ashamed to ask for financial aid does not make much sense–they will not be wearing some kind of scarlet letter indicating they did not pay full price and I am confident that asking for assistance can be handled in a sensitive, confidential way.
I also think the hours do not make sense for those like jerseygurl that want to do laps after work and that this issue should be revisited. It may be confusing to have different hours on different days but it is also nice for families with young children to swim in the morning before it gets too hot and also before nap time. So, a little creativity in setting the hours is in order.
But if you want to go tangential and talk about how the world is falling apart because of the pension systems, personally, I think the retirement age is too low for everyone. And although I am very fond of baby boomers (being that my parents fall into this group), I agree somewhat with Anatole Kaletsky: “This is the age of war between the generations. Never mind the credit crunch, it’s all those retiring baby-boomers who threaten us with national bankruptcy.” Quite a conundrum.
The underlying problem here is the same — the process of decision-making, or non-decision-making that this Council operates under. Rather putting it on the table early on that additional revenues are needed from the pools to avoid cuts and then considering solutions i.e.: 1 pool cut all summer, 3 pools cut 1 month and shorter hours, higher fees etc. etc. — and even creating a small group of stakeholders to address that issue in advance, most of the Council’s energy was spent in-camera on the equities of a 58cent increase in fees and the avoidance of embarrassment for those who would have to apply for help to pay for the pass.
That meant at the 11th hour, the town administration simply made a decision on what to do and cut 1 month out of the pool use. Some Councilors diddn’t even know about it. Decision made by neglect. And the entire budget process has been like this. The Council should have been dealing with budget issues from last summer, or avoid this summer’s scramble.
And this is the central difficulty with this group. They are not planning or getting help with planning. Little time during the meetings are spent on the budget compared to other pressing issue like bikes, parking on streets etc. Therefore they are really not governing. No due diligence and little interest in the details of difficult facts for considering all options on complex issues.
There is no thought of revenue generation (ie franchise fees at the pools for a food concession, or in other spots around town and their is little thought to long term economic development overall. There is no thought being given to re-appraising the township on paper to stop tax appeals now creating a two-tiered system, no thought to additional privatization options, or to structural cost sharing with the BOE and/or other towns nearby for necessary regional services.
Instead, the solution is operate at the last second in a crisis, continue to run up deficits, tax and then seek a state waiver to be able to tax more.
Many have the wrong philosophy in play at the core.
Martin,
As you must know, and the others should know, I have proposed every initiative you mention above, and many more.
The reassessment idea, which I proposed months ago, for example, came and went with people saying “that’s nice.”
Perhaps our current system of governance in Montclair, under the Faulkner Act (we’re “special” so we needed a “special” way of governing) has outlived its usefulness and should be changed. A separately elected mayor with six other Councilors having no power other than to set policy for the “professional manager” may not be best in today’s world.
Something needs to change!
Cary
So let’s change it. Crisis management is not effective in any situation. The pools are just one small example. Some people might be embarrassed about not being able to afford an extra ten dollars per summer, so the vast majority of citizens wind up with reduced days and hours, even though it is their tax dollars keeping the pools open. It’s ridiculous. The council is right, I can afford to go elsewhere for a pool, but why should I have to? Why can’t I pay more to have the pool open all day and into the evening? Why can’t I pay more to have some amenities and why can’t we charge for concessions? We’re not talking thousands or hundreds of dollars per family, we’re talking about $10 or $20 per family per summer for what is an optional expenditure, yet the same council thinks it’s acceptable to raise taxes an average of $500 or more per family – and that payment is not optional. This is beyond silly, it is just gross incompetence.
Well said, jg.
I am rather late to the party, but I would like to point out that we ARE in fact paying more, even if the pool fee remains the same; we are paying the same price for less time and therefore we are getting less for our money. I honestly cannot fathom why the fee was not increased, while the hours remained the same, as it is logically the very same situation to the current.
Further, my family would probably fall into the area of “assistance” or what have you, but we choose not to as it runs against our personal beliefs. In order to afford one stay at home parent, we cut back in other areas, also because we choose to. That said, we also walk everywhere, as the town is so small. We would be upset if the Essex pool closed, but as it closes early every year, we would just trek a bit further.
While the day camp does use the Essex pool during the week, it is just one aspect of a complete program. No one is up in arms about Renaissance losing swim class, which is a fair comparison. If the day camp becomes less attractive to parents because of the missing swim hour, then those parents can look for another day camp option. Is the day camp also subsidized?
My overall point, charge what is needed to properly run the pools. Every family can decide for themselves whether or not they would like to pay that fee and what they will sacrifice throughout the year to afford it, if that is an issue. As for those in need, I assume either property tax or regular fees are covering those costs, correct? Is that not enough hand holding?
As for Chatham, we nearly joined last year, but realized that we would only visit on weekends when the licensed driver is home, not making it financially prudent. The moment I cave to the suburban car thing we will for sure pick Chatham over Montclair. The article and photo above really can not truly show the extreme difference. I recommend giving it a whirl if you do not mind the drive!