Bethpage-Tribune_1982-07-28

              BETHPAGE OLD BETHPAGE PLAINVIE W
ISLAND TREES PLAINEDGE SEAFORD
VOL. 17 NO. 16 Week of July 28 - August 5,1982 20 cents per copy
Water Temp Low - Tempers High
at Bethpage Community Pool
By M. Joseph John
The water temperature is down, the patronage
is down but the tempers are up at the Bethpage
Community Pool.
The Bethpage residents who use the pool
regularly are angry about the water in the main
pool being so cold. They are also upset with the
people in the office who post an inflated water
temperature everyday. One patron said those
people must think we are complete idiots. The
water is freezing and they post a temperature of
78 degrees. He went to the office and asked "who
the clown was" that was responsible for the
posted temperature. His question was laughed
off with no real reply. He told them to stop
posting the temperature of the Kiddie Pool, (we
all know why that is warm) and measure the
temperature in the main pool. There- was no
response.
Almost everyone complained that the water
was colder than it should be. Several people said
that there is a leak in the pool necessitating the
constant replacement of cold water. One pool
member, who is an engineer, said that there is
indeed a leak in the pool and that 3 to 4 inches of
water had to be replaced everyday. He went on
to say that after several days of air
temperatures in the 90's the pool water
temperature should be in the mid to upper 70's as
is posted in the office, but it is not. It is more like
70 degrees. Other pool members told me about
the leak but would not reveal the source of their
information. The pool office denies that there is a
leak.
After so many complaints about the water
temperature I obtained an hermetically sealed
stainless steel Tel-Tru dial thermometer which
is very accurate and is used for measuring the
temperature of liquids. On six separate days
during the mid July heat wave I took
temperature readings of the main pool. The
readings were taken between 12 noon and 3 P.M.
when the air temperature was in the 90's. The
highest pool temperature recorded was 72
degrees and on that day the temperature posted
by the office was 77 degrees. On four of the days
the water temperature was 71 degrees and on
one day it was 70 degrees. The Office, mean­while,
posted pool temperatures ranging from 74
to 78 degrees during this time.
One man advised that the diving pool water
was much warmer than the main pool and
suggested that I check it. The temperature in the
diving pool was 77 degrees which was what was
posted in the office window. However, the main
pool temperature was 71 degrees.
All the pool patrons I spoke with said last year
the water was delightful and they could only
remember a few days when the water was
unbearably cold. One person contacted friends
who go to the Plainview pool and they reported
that the water was beautiful to swim in and not
cold at all.
The members of the Bethpage Community
Pool are outraged that they had to pay a much
higher price to join the pool and then not be able
to enjoy it. An average family of four persons
paid $74 last year, including passes, and had to
pay $99 this year - an increase of 33 percent. To
make matters worse, membership this year is
down 45 percent over last year. The results of a
large drop in membership is a net revenue loss of
approximately 35 percent.
One couple was particularly annoyed at
Supervisor Colby. They said Mr. Colby had sent
a representative to the pool last year who walked
about with the pool maintenance Supervisor. He
asked the people what improvements they
thought were necessary at the pool. He promised
that they were going to do some things for the
pool. The only thing they managed to do, the
couple went on to say, was to increase the price
and lower the water temperature. They also said
that they would not be joining the pool next year.
It is obvious that there is something wrong
with the main pool. Although they deny that
there is a leak one only has to go back a couple of
years when the pool was also very cold "with
supposedly nothing wrong. But a few tenacious
residents found out that the filters were not
working so it was necessary to pump in huge
amounts of fresh, cold water everyday to keep
the pool biologically clean. A petition was passed
around to fix it but before you knew it the season
was over.
Our Town Fathers may be hoping for a quick
end to this summer too, but the people who use
the Bethpage Pool are not asleep and they expect
the Town Leaders to do something about this
problem.
The Beat
Rolls On
Oyster Bay Town Councilman
Salvatore R. Mosca (second
from left) presents a proclama­tion
to George Stermer of
Bethpage in recognition of his
support of the Town's Group
Activities Program (GAP) for
the handicapped. George has
been providing dance music iSft
the GAP summer program for
several years with his portable
disco unit. Among the GAP
members on hand at the latest
disco party, held at Bethpage
Community Park, were Joseph
Pierini of Bethpage and Marion
Nabor of Massapequa.