Pool Snack Bar Project Starting

It's still months before Millburn-Short Hills residents will be diving into the town pool, but work is starting now to get ready to improve the experience.

Workers will start soon on expanding and improving the snack bar, which is the final phase in the three-phase renovation of the pool complex.

Recreation Director Robert Hogan said the project, which costs about $117,000, will create better service for those who use the snack bar. There will be more room for the workers behind the counter and the deck will be moved to the pool side of the building. Right now the deck is sandwiched between the snack bar and a batting cage.

"It will be a little nicer and more roomy," he said.

The snack bar needs a bigger building to offer the services pool visitors want. In the beginning, the snack bar just offered hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream, Hogan said, but today there is a larger variety offered including chicken sandwiches.

"To do it there in such a small space is tough," he said. "It's worse than my office. It's a challenge. It's way too small."

The workers are on top of each other, and it's hard to keep clean, he said.

Work is expected to start this week, and it will be completed in about five weeks. It should be done in plenty of time for the Memorial Day pool opening, Hogan said.

The first phase of the pool renovation project was to improve the pool itself. The second phase improved the bathhouse and the surrounding grounds. That work was completed in 2003.