Swim Captain: Team Shrinks As NLHS Pool Remains Closed

The captain of the swim team says the team is suffering for lack of an important component in their practices: a pool.

Deanna Cappiello brought her concerns before the Board of Education, saying she expected that work would commence in the spring but that this has not happened. Cappiello said the lack of a pool on site has led several people to quit due to the increased time commitment needed for travel and practice elsewhere.

“This took our team of 23 and turned it into a team of five,” she said.

The 25-yard pool has been shut down since May of 2010. Dr. Nicholas Fischer, superintendent of , said the decision to close the pool was backed up by a Ledge Light Health District order and followed the discovery of serious problems. He said the pool had not been drained in 15 years, that the concrete rebar in the casement around the pool was disintegrating, that there was moisture seepage around the casement, and that the pumping and filtration systems were not working properly.

“The reason we’re in the place we are is we have invested no money in pool issues over the years,” said Fischer. He said the return of a pool will have to be accompanied by a yearly commitment through a recurring maintenance fund.

Fischer said the Board of Education is waiting on cost estimates for options related to the site. These include repairing the existing pool, installing a new pool at the same site, or demolishing the existing site and adding a pool to a community center. He said the board’s maintenance committee will make a recommendation to the City Council after it receives the estimates.

Cappiello said the school has been the home of the Eastern Connecticut Conference Championship due to the large seating area at the pool. She said the pool has also been a community resource, serving as a site for swimming lessons and an open swim.

Tommie Major, director of the city’s , said the swimming lessons are one of the most popular programs offered to the community. He said that there is still a demand for the lessons, but that participation has been limited due to the change of venue to a smaller pool. Major said the has allowed the department to conduct swimming lessons there.

“They’ve been really great to us and we’re really appreciative of that,” he said.