Township officials are close to an agreement with officials from both Secaucus and Palisades Park that will enable township residents to use the municipal swimming pools at those towns while North Bergen will look to building a new facility.
According to Mayor Nicholas Sacco, the township is close to an agreement with Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell and Palisades Park Mayor Sandy Farber that will allow residents to use the pools at both swimming facilities at discounted rates.
“In Secaucus, we might have to pay more than the current Secaucus resident rate, but less than what they ask for guest rates,” Sacco said. “We’ve yet to work out a deal with Palisades Park, but we should be able to give our residents a choice of which pool they would like to use.”
The need to look elsewhere for swimming facilities arrived suddenly last month. The North Bergen township facility, which has operated on Tonnelle Avenue and 91st Street for more than 30 years, was found to have contaminants in the soil surrounding the pool.
The state Department of Environmental Protection ordered the town to close the facility until the necessary land remediation is completed.
Officials believe that it will take two years to either clean up the current site or build a new swimming facility on another site, which meant that North Bergen residents would have had no place to go without a new deal with Secaucus and Palisades Park.
Township Chief Financial Officer Christopher Pianese, who is handling the negotiations, admitted that he was closer to a deal with Secaucus, but he hopes to make progress in the deal with Palisades Park.
Pianese said that transportation agreements to bring residents to and from the swimming facilities in Secaucus and Palisades Park will be determined at a later date, after all agreements are ironed out between the towns. Secaucus officials have hinted that they would welcome North Bergen residents, because the Secaucus pool operated at a deficit of more than $130,000 for 2001.
Last year, Secaucus charged its residents $175 each and charged non-residents $270 each. The fee for North Bergen’s residents at the North Bergen pool was $125 per person.
There was also a discrepancy in family plan fees as well. North Bergen charged $220 for a family of two in 2001, while Secaucus charged similar families $240 for residents and $375 for non-residents.
To offset the extended use of the pool for North Bergen residents, Secaucus officials told Pianese that they would consider extending pool hours this season by changing the daily opening time from noon to 10 a.m. The pool would continue to close at 6 p.m.
“Once we complete the negotiations, we will notify all the residents of the different plans,” Sacco said. “It will be a great relief to all of us. Actually, it’s turning out better than I expected. I thought we were going to have a gigantic headache, not having a pool. It’s not convenient, but it’s better than having nothing for two years. We fully plan to have our pool open in two years. If these agreements are reached, this will benefit everyone.”
Sacco said that the plan will also allow the township’s swim program, the Gators, to continue to be competitive, under the guidance of aquatic director Lydia Coleman.
“We’re going to be able to keep the Gators intact,” Sacco said. “That was very important to me.”
Secaucus Town Administrator Anthony Iacono estimated that as many as 400 North Bergen residents will apply for pool passes at Secaucus. He said that the price for passes at Palisades Park will probably be higher. Last year, 1,300 Secaucus residents took out passes.