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Homerun or strikeout?

By Lorenzo Recupero: With the exception of more home runs to right field, the new pool might be a strike out compared to the old Chelsea pool most of us remember.

Last year, as reported to us via the Devils' Advocate, the city announced that in the summer of 2008" the decrepit Chelsea pool would be reconstructed and reopened to the public. The existing structure was torn down last fall, and in early April further preparation and construction of the site commenced. The property is owned by the Department of Conservation and Recreation ("DCR"), which is funding construction and maintenance of the pool. DCR's property ownership actually extends beyond the site of the old pool and includes part of the right field used by CHS for varsity baseball. Because DCR is claiming some of that land to expand the size of the new Chelsea pool, the fence in right field has moved closer to home plate.

I had a chance to meet with Tony Gizzonio, the head of the construction team for Construction Dynamics, the contractor hired by the DCR. During my brief conversation with Gizzonio it was clear the reconstruction of the Chelsea pool would come with drastic change. If your memory is clear you'd recollect the large diving board, the swirling slide, and of course where everyone gathered - the ten-feet deep end. These accessories all gone "due to liability reasons" said Mr. Gizzonio.

The types of facilities the new pool will acquire are oriented more to families and young children and may be not so appealing to high school teenagers. The more drastic of the changes from the past include a larger deck area around the pool, no slide, no diving board and the closure of a deep end. Mr. Gizzonio informed me that most likely the pool isn't going to exceed a water level of six feet in any section. There will also be an addition of a kiddy pool lined up symmetrically to the main pool. I learned that the new pool is causing a 30-foot decrease along the yellow wall in right field, and if you know baseball you know this is a significant difference when it comes to homeruns.

So, is this new pool a strikeout or a homerun for high school students?

Article posted to chs.chelseaschools.com: .

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