By Caroline Pennacchio

Any renovation of the town pool or school athletic fields is always a highly discussed topic in Briarcliff. Village Manager Philip Zegarelli shared two recent projects that will enhance recreation in our village. The first project is the replacement of the swimming pool liner. Mr. Zegarelli said that pool liners aren’t only beneficial for the users of the pool in preventing scrapes and cuts that could result from the rough surface of concrete, but the benefit of the liner prevents ground water from storms from entering the pool through cracks in the concrete base, adding impurities to the water.

Mr. Zegarelli said that recent storms are responsible for the shifting pressures of the water table and creating cracks. Storms have caused the water table’s hydrostatic pressure to be exerted on the pool’s walls causing cracks in the concrete foundation below and between the pool’s plastic liner, forming bubbles along its bottom and sides. Since the current pool liner is 12 years old, it

has easily outlived its life expectancy of 10 years, giving the village its money’s worth. The current renovations to replace the pool’s plastic liner will cost approximately $74,000. A plastic liner is also being placed in the kiddie pool for the first time. With the installation of the new liner, the pool was refilled by a two inch hose, very slowly to prevent the formation of bubbles as the water is filtered of all impurities.

There has also been discussion about the printing of a bear paw decal or the village’s name on the pool liner of either the shallower section of the larger pool (away from the lanes) or the liner of the kiddie pool, but no official decisions have been made.

When the old liner from the pool was removed, village staff came up with a creative use for the old liner pieces. They would be laid over the tennis courts underneath a membrane to create an ice skating rink. The membrane will then be filled with water, which should freeze much more easily than the pond, although it will not be refrigerated. The pond, which has been used for skating in the past, is significantly deeper than the new rink and is surrounded by the ground, which acts as an insulator that delays its freezing. Mr. Zegarelli said that the cost for a seasonal Resident Ice Skating badge is currently being speculated at $5 but is subject to change.

With the new liners in place, Briarcliff’s 385,000 gallon municipal pool will reopen as usual for the spring. The experimental ice skating rink will expand the range of activities that are available for Briarcliff residents this winter and hopefully for many future winters.