Labor Day Washout: Rain/Wind on Final Day of Underwood Pool Season

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Photo: Underwood Pool

It’s looking like it will be a wet end of what had been a gloriously hot and sunny swimming season at the Underwood Pool as the remnants of a hurricane that struck Florida on Thursday wanders its way to the region. 

The National Weather Service has already issued a hazardous weather outlook for Belmont and most of lower New England beginning Sunday night and lasting into Tuesday. While the track and intensity of the now Tropical Storm Hermine remain a question mark for the area, expect rain and gusty winds for Monday and into Tuesday. 

The pool is scheduled to be open this holiday weekend from 10 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. and on its final day, Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

No word from staff at the pool or the Recreation Department whether the pool will open for a final, rainy day. But stay tuned to the Belmontonian for updates.

Pool Memberships Stable for Residents, Increases for Out-of-Towers

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Photo: Underwood Pool, Belmont. 

Preparing for the first full season of the still “new” Underwood Pool in the summer of 2016, members of the Recreation Commission told the Board of Selectmen Monday night, Dec. 15, that visitor season and daily passes will see significant increases as the town prepares for a deluge of swimmers beginning in June.

“Last year was a like a shakeout cruise,” said Recreation Commission Chair David Kane of the one month the pools were open in August. “We were just trying to understand what we need to do to be enjoyable.” 

This coming year will be “more holistic,” said Kane, which includes the new price tag on using the facility.

While nearly all Belmont residents will not see an increase in tag prices for the 2016 swimming season, Kane said non-residents will feel the “bite” of a big increase for the pleasure of frolicking in Belmont’s new pools.

According to Kane, prices for Belmont residents will be:

  • Family season pass (two adults, up to four children): $225 before June 30/$250 after July 1.
  • Adult season pass: $150
  • Child season pass: $110
  • Day pass/adult: $10
  • Day pass/child: $5

For non-Belmont residents, prices will be:

  • Family season pass (two adults, up to four children): $375
  • Adult season pass: $225
  • Child season pass: $175
  • Day pass/adult: $20

In comparison, two years ago the non-resident family pass was $225 and a year ago $265. 

“It is high,” said Kane of the new costs, but noting the commission had received “some complaints of overcrowding on certain days” and there is some hope that the new price structure will deter some non-residents swimmers from coming.

Staff members will ask for identification to determine residency. 

In addition, there will be a 25 percent military discount while seniors will no longer have the option of a lifetime charge of $50 a year. 

When asked if Belmont should place a hard cap limit on the number of non-residents, commission member Ann Bere – who conducted a review of pricing patterns in neighboring communities – said the group will review the membership data in late May so “we’d know if non-resident passes is at a level where we’d be at a level that we would need to set a limit.” 

Bere said she believes the new costs will self-limit the number of out-of-towners coming to the Underwood. 

Wintery Blast Off to Official Groundbreaking of New Underwood Pool

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The juxtaposition at the official groundbreaking for the new Underwood Pool was as glaring as the brilliant morning sunshine on Friday, Nov. 21.

Residents, business leaders and town official attended the ceremony heralding the building an outdoor summer time pool complex wrapped in parkas and scarfs while wearing gloves, boots and hats to brave one of the coldest days since last March.

Yet the cold, blustery conditions – it took several fire department personnel to keep the large American flag hoisted from the town’s ladder truck from blowing away – did not place a damper on the enthusiasm of the celebration.

“The pool is dead; long live the pool,” said Adam Dash, vice chair of the Underwood Pool Building Committee before the open pit where the century old pool once sat. If all goes to plan – the weather will determine when opening day will occur – the area will be teeming with residents using two brand-new pools this coming summer.

“Thank you all for coming here to witness this historic event; the first time in a 102 years that we’ve had a ground breaking for an Underwood Pool in the town,” said Dash

The history of the new pool complex replacing the historic facility built in 1912 is well known, beginning two years ago through the urging from Peter Castinino, the retiring director of the town’s Department of Public Works, funded via a Community Preservation Act funds, Town Meeting funding and a debt exclusion in April 2014, the sudden need to raise $400,000 after a contractor abandoned the project which was successful in October due in large part to the generosity of the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation which donated $200,000 and the work of building committee member Ellen Schreiber.

“Things like this don’t happen too often so this is a real Red Letter Day for the town of Belmont,” said Robert Mahoney, president and CEO of Belmont Savings.

“This will always be the Underwood Pool but I think this  is the People’s Pool. More than 450 families contributed to our matching grant to make this happen, from as small as $10 to $25,000. It’s a people’s effort and I’d like to congratulate all of us to make this happen,” said Mahoney.

Helen Baker, a descendant of the Underwood family that deeded to the town the land which the pool was located, thanked the bank’s “generous gift” and the other donations making the project possible.

In addition to the Underwood relatives, the town recognized DPW workers who “worked tirelessly to make sure the pool opened each season even after it exceeded its useful life,” said Belmont Board of Selectmen Chair Andy Rojas.

Finally, with wind chill temps in the mid-teens, the officials and residents who worked to make the project a reality took shovels in hand to “break ground” at the site.

Hopefully, the wardrobe for the pool’s ribbon cutting will be strictly summer attire.

Belmont Savings Matching Grant Could Help Save Underwood Pool

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There just might be outdoor swimming next summer in Belmont after all.

The Belmont Savings Bank Foundation, the community grant-making wing of Belmont Savings Bank, announced Thursday, Sept. 11 that it will match, dollar-for-dollar, up to $200,000 in private donations raised towards building a new Underwood Pool.

The potential $400,000 will allow the Underwood Building Committee to accept the current low bid of $4.55 million from Methuen-based New England Builders and Contractors to erect the new pool complex on the site of the current historic 102-year-old facility at Concord Avenue and Cottage Street.

“The bank understands how much Belmont residents care about the Underwood Pool, and once again they are partnering with us to make a positive difference in the community,” said Ellen Schreiber, secretary of the Underwood Pool Building Committee.

The future of the new two-pool facility had been in question since late August when the initial low bidder Seaver Construction of Woburn, abruptly withdrew its $3.84 million offer on the project that the Building Committee has budgeted at $4.16 million.

As a result of the Foundation’s challenge, the Building Committee is launching a fundraising campaign to raise $200,000 “from large donors as well as from the grassroots to complete the funding for the New Underwood Pool project,” said Schreiber, who has set up a donation website, www.underwoodpool.com

All donations are tax-deductible – the committee will be working with Belmont’s Partners in Play and the Winn Brook PTO – and is restricted for the pool project.

In a separate announcement, New England Builders and Contractors has agreed to extend until Oct. 31 signing a contract with the committee to build a new facility. The current deadline to award the work is Sept. 26. The firm also said it would build through the winter and attempt to have the structure open for the 2015 recreation season beginning the final week in June.

As a result, “[w]e need to raise $388,000 in donations as a public-private partnership … by October 31,” said Schreiber.

“The timeline is aggressive, but the grant from the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation really makes it possible,” she said.

“As a donor, it is very exciting to know that every dollar you give is being doubled. And this is a true matching grant – for every dollar we raise, the foundation will give us a dollar, up to $200,000. So we encourage people to help complete the funding for the Underwood Pool,” said Schreiber, who is well-known for help leading a massive community effort to build the new Joey’s Park adjacent to Winn Brook Elementary on Cross Street that opened in October of last year.

Those interested in making a large donation can contact Ellen Schreiber at ellensch@verizon.net or 617-290-6216. Make donations of any size by check or online at www.UnderwoodPool.com.

Officials Ponder Future of New Underwood Pool

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What now?

After the sudden withdrawal on Aug. 28 of the (only) low bidder to construct the $5.2 million new Underwood Pools complex, town officials are scrambling to discover a way to keep the project “on time and budget” to allow the facility to open for the 2015 summer recreation season.

That process begins on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. when the Underwood Pool Building Committee – the public group that coordinated the new facility’s final design and its detailed budget – will meet to discuss the current lay of the land and the series of options. The committee will bring their suggestions to the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 8 a.m.

The committee “would like to review the options going forward with the Town Administrator [David Kale] and the Board of Selectmen,” said Committee member Adam Dash in a press release issued last week.

Under the Building Committee’s tentative timeline, construction on the two-pool complex was scheduled to begin in September with completion by the first day of summer 2015, replacing the 102-year-old existing historic structure that closed for the final time on Monday, Sept. 1.

Woburn-based Seaver Construction was the only of the five bidders that came in under the committee’s $4.16 million construction budget. Soon after submitting its $3.84 million plan, the construction firm withdrew its offer claiming it made a “clerical error” in determining their cost in completing the project. Belmont officials noted that despite the miscalculation, Seaver would have stayed within the Building Committee’s budget.

The next closest proffer to build the complex came from New England Builders and Contractors, Inc. at $4.55 million.

While both committee members and town officials are keeping their opinions close to their vests before the two public meetings, the new Underwood Pool appears to be impacted by a dramatic shift in the demand for the same contractors who can build Belmont’s pools. In the past year, there has been a boom in private-sector building throughout Boston, according to a May 12, 2014 article in ENR.com

With billions of dollars in the pipeline in greater metropolitan Boston – from Boston’s waterfront to Watertown’s Assembly Square – the demand for general contractors has skyrocketed, and so have their fees. Nor does it appear that this trend will subside anytime soon.

“As for the private marketplace, Mark Warren, senior vice president and managing director of WSP’s Building Systems, believes there is enough work throughout the metro region for years to come.

“Everyone says you are going to saturate the market at some point,” he says. “But there is research showing that existing space is being consumed and that more is needed.”

Underwood Pool’s ‘Last’ Days this Weekend

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Belmont residents – the few still in town during the Labor Day holiday – were anticipating to witness the final days of the Underwood Pool, the oldest continuously serving outdoor municipal pool in the US, as it prepares to shut down for the final time since opening its doors a few weeks after the Titanic sank in 1912.

After 102 years, the historic pool would be open for one last weekend before shutting down.

But with news earlier this week that Woburn-based Seaver Construction withdrew its low bid to build a new Underwood Pool complex – the only one of five bidders who was within the $4.9 million construction budget – the future of the existing oval-shaped pool has grown a bit murky as town officials scramble to determine their next move on the already designed new two pool complex scheduled to open on the first day of summer 2015.

Town departments, officials and the new pool’s building committee will meet at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3 to discuss any next steps that can be taken.

For those residents who wish to take a “final” plunge into the historic facility, the pool’s Labor Day weekend schedule is:

  • Friday and Saturday, Aug. 29 and 30: 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
  • Sunday, Aug. 31: 1 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
  • Monday, Sept. 1 (the “final” day): noon to 4 p.m.

 

New Underwood Pool in Flux as Low Bidder Leaves Belmont High and Dry

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The sudden departure of the construction company set to build the new Underwood Pool complex has left the future the town’s facility in flux as officials prepare to convene to discuss Belmont’s options in completing the project by next year.

“We are disappointed that Seaver Construction decided to withdraw its bid, as we were looking forward to working with them to build the new Underwood Pool,” said Adam Dash, the vice chair of the Underwood Pool Building Committee which oversees the pool’s design and construction.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen has announced that it will be holding a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 8 a.m. to discuss the fate of the new complex with the Underwood Pool Building Committee at Town Hall.

Under the Building Committee’s tentative timeline, construction on the two-pool complex was scheduled to begin in September with completion by the first day of summer 2015, replacing the 102-year-old existing structure.

There is no official word whether the committee’s time schedule remains viable at this late date.

Not only was the Woburn-based company the lowest of four bids to build the $5.2 million project, Seaver was also the only firm to stay within the established budget.

According to a press release from the Belmont Department of Public Works, Seaver withdrew its bid “on the grounds of having made a clerical error” in determining their cost in completing the project.

Under state law, public construction regulations prevent adjustments from being made after bids are submitted.

But even calculating in the error, according to the DPW, Seaver’s bid would have still been within the project’s budget and would have remained the low bid.

Seaver has built several projects in Belmont, including il Casale Restaurant in Belmont Center, converting a private house into the Belmont Hill School new Alumni Center and a high-end residential home at 365 Marsh St.

Dash said the committee “would like to review the options going forward with the Town Administrator [David Kale] and the Board of Selectmen.”

 

A Sunny Muddy Day at the Underwood Pool

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Sunday was the perfect summer weekend day; sunny, warm and dry.

Dry, that is, until you mix water and dirt together and then send wave after wave of children racing on an obstacles course around the Underwood Pool on Sunday, Aug. 24 as the Belmont Recreation Department held its inaugural “Kid’s Mud Run” to give kids a chance to say goodbye to the century-old municipal pool. 

Belmont Recreation Department’s Program Supervisor June Howell and her staff spent the morning creating a course that included a downhill water slide, a tour of the Underwood Playground, sack races and two mud-filled children pools at the beginning and end of the “Tour de Underwood.”

At high noon, the children from 4 to 12 where sent along the route circling the pool – after 102 years, the facility will be replaced with a modern $5.2 million two pool complex approved by the spring Town Meeting in April – to the thrill of parents, friends and siblings.

“It was really nice,” said Grace McDonald, the winner of the girls’ 4 to 6 year old group. All winners received a Summer 2015 Family Membership and a trophy.

The winners are:

Girls’ 4-6: Grace MacDonald

Boys’ 4-6: Aaron White

Girls’ 7-8: Candace Burger

Boys’ 7-8: Adam Bower

Girls’ 9-10: Sylvia Davidson

Boys’ 9-10: Colin Fergason

Girls’ 11+ : Oliva Zarzycki

Boys’ 11+ : Sean Palmer

Finally, several Rec Dept. councilors and lifeguards took their lives into their hands in their own special race.

After the event, the pool was open to all for free with music, hot dogs and games for the remainder 0f the day.
The Underwood Pool’s final day will be Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1.

Rec Dept. Says Good-Bye to Underwood Pool With Kid’s Mud Run

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How do you say good-bye to an old friend?

How about a day of mud and fun!

That sounds just about right to Belmont Recreation Department’s Program Supervisor June Howell. After holding a successful season-opening event – the Summer Blast Off – for the town’s Underwood Pool in June, Howell began to think about holding some sort of celebration to mark the end of the life of “the “old Underwood” (this year marks the pool’s 102nd summer) and incorporating the kids seemed to be a great idea.

That’s when Howell remembered something she had been keeping in the back of her head for a number of years; a fun run around the facility with water slides, obstacles and mud.
Lots of mud. 
“Actually, my (adult) nephew told me about one he did and I researched to see how they adapted it for children. They are becoming quite popular.  So between looking at websites and using our imaginations, we came up with some obstacles and a course we think will be fun yet safe,” said Howell.
So at high noon on Sunday, Aug. 24, kids will be able to take part in the Rec Department’s first-ever Kid’s Mud Run at the Underwood Pool to recognize the last days of the century-old facility.
Kids between 4 and 12 will start off at a “mud pit” before heading up the hill to the playground above the pool where they will attack a balance beam, weave in and out between the swing set, carry wood then head back to the pool where after more challenges, they head to the sprinklers before wading across the kiddie portion of the pool to the finish line.
There will be four categories, boys and girls 4 to 6, 7 to 8, 9 to 10 and 11 to 12, with the winners receiving a Summer 2015 Family Membership and a trophy.
After the mud, the Rec Department will hold an open community day at the pool with no membership or day pass required to enter from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will be music, hot dogs, swimming and games.

“I really think it’s going to be a blast for the kids,” said Howell. “And for all of us at the department too.”

You can find applications and a course map for the Kid’s Mud Run online at the Belmont Recreation Department Web site. (http://www.belmont-ma.gov/recreation-division)

Belmont Weekend: Pool Blast Off Sunday, Bright Corner Fair, the ‘Chef’ at the Studio

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• The Belmont Recreation Department will be holding the 6th annual Summer Blast Off Party at the Underwood Pool on Sunday, June 22, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Join the celebration of the Underwood Pools’ farewell season with music, games and fun.

• The Bright Corner Summer Fair will be held in the strip mall at 70 Concord Ave. on Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is sponsored by the three businesses – East Boston Savings Bank, Indigo Fire and Mathnasium – in the mall and Belmont Dental Group.

• Blockbuster, smockbuster; forget all the loud, visually-maddening mega-films aimed at stuffing young people in movie theaters. Playing at Belmont’s Studio Cinema is “Chef,” a “small” film directed, co-produced, written by and starring Jon Favreau with co-stars Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sofía Vergara, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt and John Leguizamo. Show times are 3:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8:15 p.m Friday, Saturday and Sunday. See the trailer here.