Society pleads to save Victoria Pool
Thursday, February 18, 2010
By PATRICK H. DONGES, The Saratogian
SARATOGA SPRINGS — In the face of cuts that could close many local state parks, city residents are taking a stand.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the Save the Victoria Pool Society pleaded with city and county officials to do whatever they could to keep the pool open this summer.
Gov. Paterson’s recently announced executive budget proposal would cut $20 million from the parks. Rumored cuts include Peebles Island, Thacher Park and the Saratoga Spa State Park pool.
"How many more shoes are going to drop?" asked Saratoga Springs resident Peter Tulin Tuesday night.
"First VLTs, then the pool; what’s next?"
The society came with photos of swimmers on the pool’s opening day in 1935. Tulin illustrated the importance of the pool by noting the two years during World War II when the track was closed but the pool remained open.
Society co-founder Louise J. Goldstein first learned the pool might be closed in a news article last Sunday. Her concern increased this week when Spa State Park officials told her next season’s schedule would not be available until March.
"It means the most to the citizens, economy and, most importantly, the history of Saratoga Springs," Goldstein said .
The society urged the City Council to bring forward a resolution stating they would do whatever it takes to keep the pool open.
Mayor Scott Johnson gave no indication of a pending resolution, but he praised the tenacity of the society since its inception in 2003.
"(The Victoria Pool) is a part of the city’s history and we will work to guarantee its continued use," he said Wednesday.
In 2004, the organization helped secure a $646,801 grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to upgrade the pool. It had been closed periodically for maintenance and sanitation problems.
In 2004 and 2005 the pool underwent a $1.5 million rehabilitation project including masonry restoration, a new filtration system, new pipes and stainless steel gutters.
County Supervisor Matthew Veitch plans to bring the pool to the attention of state legislators when he lobbies for the county’s legislative agenda Feb. 23, even though he primarily used the Peerless Pool in his youth. He admitted that a resolution brought before the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors could not stop the state from closing the pool.
"There needs to be a critical mass," He said. "It could spur the public to write letters and make their case."
Veitch said he couldn’t believe the state was losing revenue by keeping the pool open.
"I just don’t see the point of it," he said, noting the recent renovations.
The Save the Victoria Pool Society can be found on the Web at www.save-the-victoria-pool-society.blogspot.com.
URL: http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2010/02/18/news/doc4b7cad359d307252221420.prt
© 2010 saratogian.com, a Journal Register Property
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4 comments:
I think it is wrong of you to use this great pending tragedy in order to push your own agenda. As long as the pool remains open there is still no reason to foolishly open on Memorial Day!
The pool should open in early June if not by Memorial Day. June is one of the hottest months. Also it would make the hotel more appealing.
Victoria Pool is a treasure to people of Saratoga. It's classic history brought to the present.
I go there many days during the summer. It's the adult place to lounge and gather.
We even have our own "security guard" now.
I'm all for reducing the budget. The pool needs to remain open
as part of the Saratoga State Park.
They can reduce the budget by
freezing the state hiring of new employees and letting some management retire that does not work a productive day.
.
to the anonymous idiot at 3:14 what security guard make yourself clear? This is a public blog, not some inside joke blog. Also it is not an adult place it is a public place. This could be why it was on the chopping block in the first place. More people would benefit from peerless as more can go and children often enjoy summer camps there. Saying things like that don't help your cause.
However you can start your memorial day nonsense again as the news and the times useless have reported on the parks and sites slated to close and Victoria Pool and Grafton are not on that list.
This is a victory for Parks, Citizens and the future.
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