Grand plans for Valley Stream pool complex

A multi-phase plan is being developed to upgrade the Valley Stream pool complex, and Village officials hoping to begin the first set of renovations this fall.

Mayor Ed Fare said that the village is planning to construct a new entrance to the pool at Hendrickson Park that complies with the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and that he hopes will be just the beginning of a major overhaul of the 50-year-old facility. An outdoor men’s changing area, no longer used, would be the ideal location for the new entrance, he explained.

There are plans to renovate the pool service building, which includes the current entrance to the complex, lifeguard offices, locker rooms, concession stand and filtration equipment. The first step, Fare said, would be to knock out the cement-block walls of the men’s changing area and install a modular building, which would include a new entrance and handicapped-accessible bathrooms and showers.

Fare said that the available space is more than double the size of the current pool entrance, and is also more centrally located. He estimated the cost of the project to be about $500,000, mostly for the modular building. Village workers could do the plumbing, electric and other work to get the new facility up and running.

The village is nearly ready to issue a request for proposals for the work, Fare said, which he hopes can be completed for the start of the 2012 pool season. “We can do a lot of the work in September, October, November,” he said.

Other upgrades

The new entrance is the only part of the project that Fare says is certain to happen, but he has other plans if money is available. One is to replace the diving pool. It is the only original pool in the complex — the main pool and the children’s interactive area were redone within the past 10 years.

Deputy Village Treasurer Michael Fox said that the diving pool, 11 feet deep at its deepest point, leaks, losing about an inch of water a week. Up until last summer, when a hydrostatic pump was replaced before the season began, the pool was losing an inch of water per hour.