Adding some shade at the pool

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Renovations to Valley Stream’s pool complex continued this year with the replacement of the 1960s-era sun deck with a large shade structure, as well as a new wall behind it.

“The analogy is, ‘If you build it, they will come,’” said Mayor Ed Fare. The pool has 5,175 members this year, up from 4,224 two years ago, he said. That’s a trend that’s expected to continue, and with a fee of $250 for a family of four, the increase has paid off for the village: In 2011, the first year of Fare’s administration, the pool was a “loss leader,” the mayor said, costing the village $200,000 to operate. That gap has declined each year since, and the facility turned a small profit last year, Fare said.

The new shade structure, which covers 1,500 square feet, can withstand winds of up to 120 miles per hour. It cost $52,800, according to Chris Vela, acting pool supervisor. He said that village workers installed the 94 yards of concrete that replaced the sun deck and anchors the structure, which saved taxpayer money on labor. It also brought that section of the complex into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as the sun deck wasn’t handicap accessible.

The facility’s building was winterized and now permanently houses the Recreation Department, which runs all of its activities out of its new offices there.

“For many years, Recreation didn’t have a home,” Vela said. “We spent the extra money, and now we have a year-round building that was never utilized year-round.”

The building also serves as the headquarters for the swim team and aquatic club.

Another addition this year was the family bathroom, which includes a wall-mounted changing table. The new feature was intended as a convenient option for parents with young children, Fare said. It came with a new set of rules, too: Parents are no longer allowed to bring their young children of the opposite sex into the regular bathrooms or showers. That irked some parents, who say they can’t shower after using the pool anymore, and who may now face waiting on a line for the family bathroom with a child who might not be able to wait, or several children who need to use it but can only go one at a time.

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