Pace of Glen Mary Pool Rebuild Frustrating Some
Parks and Recreation Committee Member Ann Tikkanen Suggests Field House for Ball Field
BAR HARBOR––The lengthy rebuilding process of the Glen Mary pool caused tempers to flare at Monday night’s Parks and Recreation Committee meeting. Director of Public Works Bethany Leavitt was absent from the meeting and could not present her usual public works update. Committee Chair John Kelly read an email from Leavitt that included some update information but nothing about the pool, disappointing the five residents who had shown up with hopes for an update.
One audience member said that they had come because they heard that the lease for the wading pool had been signed by the Village Improvement Association (VIA) and the town.
Barbara Dunphey a Glen Mary neighbor, said, “This has been going on for a couple of years now and I find it disappointing to not even see Glen Mary on the agenda. I know that Bethany has her list, but from a parks and recreation perspective, from the board, I would think that we would at least give it the room it deserves of a one-liner on that agenda every month.”
Dunphey went on to say that it would be comforting to see the line item on the agenda, even if there was not always an update and that not having a standing Glen Mary update on the Parks and Recreation Committee’s agenda and the public having to ask for updates, month after month, seems unreasonable.
Committee Secretary Jeff Dobbs said that the VIA has been moving the project forward and that the project manager for the Glen Mary pool, David Witham, has been doing a very good job but nobody expected the added burden of the storm damage to the Shore Path and all the associated work with trying to get that repaired.
“I know things are moving along, I know this town has a million things moving along and everybody is trying to prioritize all the moving parts. But, you know, I am tired and I apologize for my zest, I am tired of not hearing the children play across the street from me. I am tired of not hearing the slapstick of those people that are ice skating and playing hockey. And if I am tired, I am a 60-plus-year-old woman, who is broken down and can’t do a whole lot physically, those kids who are young are not having the experience that those who grew up in this town have had. The people who can’t play hockey, those relationships they build doing that, they rely on each other through life based on those relationships. Why are we neglecting to get this done? Why are we neglecting to not put it on the agenda?” Dunphey asked.
Kelly said, “I will speak for the committee that no one disagrees with the urgency and the importance of restoring that or improving it to the experiences that many of us and our kids had.”
Kelly went on to say that the Parks and Recreation Committee is not an oversight committee for the town. The committee approves park use permits and advises the town on park-related projects. The committee’s only role in the projects is to get ideas in motion and/or advise the Town Council. The committee also reviews, for comment or recommendation, each incarnation of the new Glen Mary lease before it is signed by the town and the VIA.
The stated duties of the Parks and Recreation Committee according to the Town Code are,
“The Committee will:
“A. Make recommendations for the use, maintenance, improvement, and development of Glen Mary Park, Park Street Playground, Athletic Field, Grant Park, the Village Green, Agamont Park, and the Town Beach and such other recreational facilities and areas as the Town may acquire.
“B. Provide an annual report and other reports, as requested, to the Town Council and Town Manager.
“C. Approve applications for special event permits, as provided by § 144-25.”
Dennis Meehan expressed his concern that with the Glen Mary pool being closed children are not learning how to swim and this is concerning to him because he has seen kids who have drowned.
Member Erin Cough said, “I think the whole committee, that the VIA is exploring all of the ideas and making sure that not only is what was there, the experiences of generations that have gone to Glen Mary, but also making sure that it is accessible to everyone. That is a big thing that Glen Mary wasn’t. Accessible. So, that is one of the things that the VIA is making sure of.”
One audience member asked who doesn’t have access to the Glen Mary pool and Cough explained that she was speaking of people who may be in a wheelchair or have to use crutches, people with disabilities who couldn’t safely enter the pool as currently built.
There are many factors involved in the rebuilding of the Glen Mary pool, involving two different organizations, the Town of Bar Harbor and the VIA as the landowner who leases the parcel to the town. Prior to the town investing too much money into the project, a new lease had to be signed as the previous one expires this year.
According to Finance Director Sarah Gilbert, there was a new lease signed in August 2023 but Town Manager James Smith is currently working on an updated lease agreement. This newest lease has a few edits to be made and then it will go back to the Parks and Recreation Committee for review before it is signed.
In addition to the back and forth of working out lease agreements and the preliminary studies and evaluations that need to be done before installation of new underground systems for the pool, there is the additional burden on the VIA of now having to repair the damage done to the vast majority of the shore path by the January storms. Finally, there is the planning of the actual pool itself.
The following letter was printed in the Mount Desert Islander on January 2. This was prior to the destructive January storms, so the timelines have shifted a little due to the additional burden of the Shore Path destruction, but it still serves as a general update.
“The VIA would like to offer the following update on Glen Mary based on comments shared at the most recent Parks and Recreation Committee meeting.
“Foremost, the VIA is committed to bringing this cherished community asset back to life in a manner that looks into the future while also respecting the desires and concerns of the neighborhood and broader community to the greatest extent possible.
“The VIA is collaborating with LARK Studio Landscape Architecture, a local landscape firm, on the design of Glen Mary and has appointed VIA board member David Witham to lead the project. The VIA has had several meetings and site walks with LARK. A conceptual plan is currently being developed with the hope of going before the town's technical review team in the very near future and then share with the Parks and Recreation Committee. With this input from the town's departments, the plan will be revised to incorporate their feedback.
“Soon after, the VIA will present the conceptual design to the community in an informal setting for additional feedback. After any further revisions made based on the community's feedback, the permitting process will begin later this spring. Concurrently at this time, the VIA will begin the fundraising effort in earnest.
“We unfortunately agree with the sentiments made by John Kelly, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Committee, that the pool will most likely not be ready for use to begin the summer season, but the VIA goal would be to have a contractor chosen and ground broken on the new pool.
“We appreciate the community's patience with this process which is complicated by the various relationships involved and the legality of the required lease.
“This project is far more complicated than simply ‘replacing’ what is there when factoring in current building codes, including ADA requirements, the permitting process, and the technicalities of a wading pool and accompanying filtration systems.
“The VIA will keep the community informed and involved as the plans develop moving forward.
“Respectfully,
“Dickie Cough”
A more recent update provided by Glen Mary Pool Project Manager David Witham on April 2 says, “The VIA is working with LARK on the new plan and our hope is to be able to present this plan to the Parks and Recreation Committee for their April meeting. We still have some areas to iron out with the plans, so if not in April we most definitely should be able to present at the May meeting.”
The pool is sited where there is a natural spring. It’s the same spring that gave Spring Street (which borders the park) its name. That spring was eventually fenced in sometime around 1983 and a wading pool was created. Some in attendance remembered the pool being much deeper in the 1960s and 1970s. It also used to have a lifeguard. And a fire pit. People would roast marshmallows and hot dogs there.
The VIA has been leasing the pool and surrounding woodland park to the town since 1995 and 2014 respectively. It closed in 2022.
Mary Shannon donated a piece of her family’s estate to the VIA in 1894. That land became Glen Mary Park. Her estate also included the Ledgelawn Inn. The land became a park. Around 1900 the park was flooded for skating. Back in late 1983 the Bar Harbor Town Council entertained six options for the pool’s future. At the time there was a lot of worry that the town would reduce the size of the 200-foot pool.
MEMBER ANN TIKKANEN WANTS TOWN TO EXPLORE BUILDING A FIELD HOUSE ON THE BALL FIELDS
Parks and Recreation Committee member and Executive Director of the MDI YMCA Ann Tikkanen asked Kelly if there was room on the agenda to discuss allowed uses on the ball fields. At the beginning of the meeting, Kelly made a motion to add Tikkanen’s request to the agenda. The motion was unanimously approved.
Tikkanen explained that she sits in her office at the YMCA eight hours a day and witnesses how underutilized the ball fields are. She said that she had asked for this committee time just so she could get more clarification on what was and what was not allowed to be done on the ball fields.
“I would just appreciate knowing, you know, what you can and cannot do. I mean, I have been exploring some quite fantastic ideas for a transitional space, of kind of a field house that would be both a turf court as well as what’s called a sport court. And each of those fields could be 60 (feet) by 90 (feet) and you can play multiple sports on either the turf court or the sport court,” Tikkanen said.
Tikkanen went on to say that these courts could have a seasonal cover, but “don’t over build it,” and these courts within a field house could expand the seasonal usage of the ball fields.
Kelly spent some time describing the lease restrictions for the different sides of the ball fields, as divided by the ball field parking lot and the old School Street right of way that runs out to Cromwell Harbor Road. Kelly said that there is always wiggle room for interpretation in the wording of the lease.
Dobbs asked Tikkanen if she had any concept of a cost and Tikkanen replied, “Well, I am hesitant to throw out a number because the whole town is so distressed at this moment on money, taxes, costs, and I understand that completely. I mean this idea might be more of a strategic arc of ambition, you know, in terms of what a multi-year plan could look like for capitalizing on the outdoor spaces.”
The remaining members of the committee advised Tikkanen to put together some specifics, perhaps with some drawings, plans, estimated costs, and bring it back to the committee so that it can be put on the agenda and they can start to get a feel on how the public feels about the suggestion.
REGULAR BUSINESS
A request from the Criterion Theatre to hold a holiday event on the Village Green on Friday, December 13, from noon until 9 p.m. was unanimously approved after having been tabled at the February 5 meeting.
A memorial bench plaque request from Michael Veres was unanimously approved. The request was to install a memorial plaque on a bench at Agamont Park.
The next Parks and Recreation Committee meeting is scheduled for May 6.
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