Cheshire Community Pool Opening Soon

The wait is almost over.

After two collapsed bubbles and several delays, town officials will finally celebrate the grand opening of the new Cheshire Community Pool on Feb. 7 and unveils a new permanent tension membrane as the facility returns to a year-round operation.

The new permanent cover is expected to withstand winds up to 130 miles per hour and 50 inches of snow. Also, interior upgrades have been made including a refurbished pool deck and locker room facilities.

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The ceremony begins at 12 noon on Sunday and as a way to give back to the community, there will be a free family swim until 3 p.m., according to a press release from Cheshire Parks and Recreation Commissioner Dan Nowak.

Nowak said all Cheshire residents are urged to attend the grand opening.

“The grand opening will also signal a new era for the pool,” Nowak said in the release. “Cheshire Parks and Rec Commissioners are focused on making it a successful, revenue-producing destination venue for the town in an effort to give the pool a new, productive beginning moving forward.”

Read more from the press release below:

Cheshire Community Pool manager Sheila Adams couldn’t be more excited about the grand opening, the opportunity to showcase the improved facility to residents and the future of the pool operation.

“The new pool structure is fantastic and can’t be compared to the dome,” Adams said. “There is much more room, it’s bright and just feels much bigger. I feel with this new structure this is the best of both worlds. We have a permanent structure yet will have an open feel in the summer months with all the garage doors that will open.

“You can’t describe the difference, you need to come in and experience it. People need to come in and see the vast improvements to the facility. Every person that has come in has said the facility now has a ‘wow’ factor. They need to experience it for themselves.”

The “garage doors” Adams referred to are doors around the side of the pool that can be closed for operation during cold winter months and opened during warm summer months to give it an open-air feel.

The grand opening will involve a multiple-person ribbon cutting ceremony, light refreshments for the public, a tour of the facility and speakers.

Members of the Cheshire Town Council and Town Manager Mike Milone are among the town officials expected to attend the grand opening along with department heads from the Public Building Commission, Planning and Zoning and Energy Commission. Town Council Honorary Chairman Rob Oris, Mike Milone, Mark Nash, Bob Ceccolini and Sheila Adams are expected to be the key speakers. After the brief speeches, this group will participate in a group ribbon-cutting ceremony to signal a new era with the Cheshire community pool.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony members of the local swimming community, residents and town officials will have the opportunity to be the first to get in the pool and kick off the new era of the venue. People who would like to do so will be asked to line up around the entire edge of the pool and everyone who lines up will jump in at the same time.

The grand opening culminates a project that began with a public referendum that was approved for the project in November 2013. The roof installation was performed by the St.Louis-based Arizon Structures. The Arcadis company served as project manager and represented the community’s interest during construction.

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