Popular West Hartford Park Pool Bathhouse To Get Facelift

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A key feature of a popular neighborhood park pool is getting a much-needed facelift after the West Hartford Town Council recently approved shifting funds to do so.

At its last meeting, council members unaninmously voted to approve budgetary changes that will fund a major overhaul of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Park Bathhouse, which provides lockers, showers, restrooms and changing areas for a public swimming pool at the 60 Oakwood Ave. site.

West Hartford Town Manager Rick Ledwith said the project includes improving handicap accessibility at the bathhouse, adding family changing areas and improvements in plumbing and electrical features at the facility.

The park serves a neighborhood close to the city line with Hartford and dates back to 1964, the year after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

It features a splash pad, pool, various athletic fields, playgrounds and picnic areas.

Council members had to do some budgetary reshuffling because local officials had planned to spend $450,000 for the overhaul via the town's capital improvement project budget.

But when bids were sought, the lowest bidder was $755,000, far more than anticipated and the cost has, since, grown to about $784,000 plus.

What was approved Jan. 24 was aimed at making up the difference utilizing federally funded Community Development Block Grant funds.

As a result, $334,400 was moved from the CDBG fund for the bathhouse overhaul, which came as a result of an ordinace approve via a 9-0 council vote.

Those funds were originally tabbed for refurb work at Spicebush Swamp Park and Wolcott Park, but work at Spicebush Swamp was deemed ineligible for CDBG dollars because it is in a flood plain and plans for restroom refurbs at Wolcott were delayed by a design backlog.

CDBG funds come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Overall, HUD's goal for these funds is to aid "facility improvements in low- or moderate-income neighborhoods or programs to support low- or moderate-income residents," wrote Ledwith to the council.

The idea of switching the funding around came from the council's community and human services subcommittee, whose chairperson, Councilperson Debra Polun, said was a way to make "lemonade out of these lemons."

She said the inability to do the two other park projects opened up the opportunity for this one, despite cost overruns that, in the current inflationary climate, are becoming more and more common for towns.

"Unfortunately, a lot of the projects that we've been putting out to bid have been coming in at higher amounts than we had originally budgeted for," Polun said.

Polun said, with the approval, work is expected to get underway "soon," with completion by summertime in June.

Councilperson Carol Blanks said the refurb at Kennedy is much-needed and will be much appreciated.

"I'm happy to learn that this is going to be happening and happening real soon because I know that park is utilized to full capacity once it begins to get warmer," she said. "I'm sure the community and the residents will welcome this. It's a long time coming."

For the minutes of the Jan. 24 West Hartford Town Council meeting, click on this link.

For further details on the project, click on this link and scroll to Page 48.

For more information on West Hartford parks, click on this link.