02/29/12 VIEW: Approve Byram Pool planning funds

To the editor:

This letter is about the urgent need for a decent municipal swimming pool, a need that has been apparent for years. To be sure, there now is a pool in Byram, but it is shabby, accommodates only 40 in a town of 61,000, leaks water, and lacks adequate, sanitary restrooms.

Greenwich is the richest town in Connecticut and one of the richest towns in the United States. In the case of the swimming pool, a public-private partnership holds the promise of raising something like half of the needed funds from private sources. How can it be, then, that we don't yet have an acceptable modern facility? How could this disgraceful situation have been allowed to persist? How can it be that, at this late date, there appears to be opposition within the BET to approving funding for design work for a new pool, funding that has the support of the first selectman, who is not known as a big spender?

Well, no one will say that they oppose building a new pool. Yet there are ways of voicing support for a project, while actually standing in the way of its execution: "It's a great idea, but we can't afford it; it's a great idea, but the timing isn't right; it's a great idea, but we need more facts," etc. Some BET members seem to be masters of these lines of reasoning.

The new pool would be located in the most densely populated part of town, in the western part where people need it the most. As an additional benefit, it would take pressure off Tod's Point and relieve traffic congestion in Old Greenwich during the summer months. With private sources ready to pay for something like half and perhaps even more toward the project, how can anyone still stand in the way?

Message to BET: Get on with it!

Gerald A. Pollack
Old Greenwich