Cornwall residents who want to have a say in the town’s planned new pool complex need to take a survey expressing their opinions on the project. You have until at least the end of October to do so, with the possibility of that time frame, Supervisor Josh Wojehowski said last week, being extended.

The supervisor and other town officials hosted an open house at the pool site on September 17. It was fairly well attended, with those there having time to look at the old, leaking pool and the pool house, as well as see renderings of the new pool complex and get information on the cost.

Wojehowski noted that in 2025 Cornwall was awarded a $5.587 million NY SWIMS grant from the state, covering approximately 80 percent of the eligible project cost. The State requires a 20 percent match which can be from a combination of public/private funds and in-kind/in-house contributions from town staff. That means the project would need to cost about $7.5 million, with the community picking up the cost for $2+ million. This is similar to the arrangement that school districts have with the state picking up to 70 percent or more of eligible costs on approved projects and the community paying for the balance. Financed over 20 years, that local cost would add about $32 a year to the taxes of a home assessed at $300,000, and about $43 a year to the taxes of a home assessed at $400,000.

The main question of the survey is “are you ready to make this investment and move forward with building a new pool for Cornwall?”. There is also space to ask questions and leave input.

From the survey: “For generations, the Cornwall community pool has been an important part of summer in our community. Our existing pool and supporting infrastructure are aging, and the town now has a significant opportunity to replace them with a new, modern community pool complex.”

The town is looking at finishing up a final design by early 2027, with construction taking place in the summer/fall of 2027, and an opening for the 2028 swimming season. That schedule is preliminary, the supervisor said, and would depend on final design, regulatory approvals, bidding, contractor availability and construction conditions.

Current plans include a larger pool – some at the open house urged have at least six swim lanes in the new pool so that the community could host swim events, and possibly bring in revenue that way to help fund the operational costs of the pool or lower the price families will pay to use the facility. They are looking at a zero-entry, accessible entrance to it, with some special features for children. The operational system of the pool (piping, filtration and electricity) would be new and the deck and fencing would be upgraded.

The old pool house would be replaced with restrooms, changing areas and showers, and, there’s a possibility there could be four-season public bathrooms accessible from the outside of the complex added. And, maybe, outdoor showers would be included.

To come with it would also be improved parking and drop-off areas – the pool currently is nestled between the playground, tennis, pickleball and basketball courts with very limited drive-up access. That seemed important to folks at the open house, as did making sure the playground and other recreation areas were left open and easy-to-visit during the construction period.

Questions at the open house included “if the residents don’t want to spend the extra money can a pool still happen?”. The answer is both yes and no – the grant funds 80 percent of the project costs, but in addition to local funds, other state and federal grant awards can be counted toward fulfilling the 20 percent match requirement. And, Wojehowski said, some things are required to be in the project, like the ADA components.

The pool survey is located at cornwallrecreation.com/Our-Programs/Community-Pool. You can get there via the home page of the town website (cornwallny.gov) and then click on Residents, then Parks & Recreation, then Learn More About the New Pool Facility Plan.

“We need to know if the community will support this before we move forward with hundreds of thousands of dollars in engineering and bid documents,” Wojehowski said as he urged all to take the survey. Residents should only take it once. He said the town may use its text and email alert system to send it out, as well as ask the Cornwall Central School District to distribute it to families via their messaging system.

For the record, at the open house, residents asked that a more prominent posting of the survey take place on the website, and that paper copies be provided to residents (like senior citizens) who don’t use the internet. Murphy said those could be handled through Munger Cottage, when programs take place and at other community events.

The plans and renderings for the new pool are also available to view on the website.