File Photo 2013 by Howard Owens.
While hot humid weather may be a factor in people’s own rising temperatures regarding the Town of Le Roy’s recreation pool policy, Town Supervisor Jim Farnholz suspects there may be something else contributing to several online complaints.
“To be frank, I think social media certainly has a play in it. You know, irrelevant comments from people who live out of state or internet trolls, there's a portion of that,” he said during an interview with The Batavian Thursday. “I think the fact that we open all of our programs, except the pool, to any community member … we have multiple camps, and they have online signups. It doesn't matter where you're from; once the signup is full, it's full, regardless. So that's open to everyone. The pool is not, because there's a very strict limitation on the number of kids that can be in the pool. It's paid for by the town and village residents.”
About a week ago, the Le Roy Rec Facebook site began to draw comments from people complaining about the policy requiring that only town and village residents could use the pool. A recreation staff member then posted that “due to the dishonesty” of some, all would be required to show proof of residence with identification upon entering the premises.
Posts such as this one from Michaela Rose Leach encouraged others to “boycott this pool because every surrounding town that has pools or splash pads allows other surrounding residents to enjoy.”
“This is clearly discrimination against certain groups of individuals,” Leach said.
JoAnne Vernaccini, in an online post, said that these kids belong to the Le Roy School district and that she could understand if the pool was free, but “they are paying for a pass.”
“I pay Le Roy taxes. Let some kids go off my taxes,” she said.
Amy Elizabeth asked if Le Roy’s splash pad was also only for town and village residents.
No, it’s not, Farnholz said. And for good reason, he added. The pool’s capacity is 230 people. As it is, with the policy that’s been in place for five years, he said, there are waiting lines of town and village residents wanting to use the pool that’s been paid for with their taxes.
“You get a hot day, there’s a waiting line, absolutely,” he said.
“I would suggest people take a peek at the Stafford Park policy, and I'm not faulting Stafford at all. But, this isn't something that's unique to Le Roy,” he said. “You know, the other part of it is that running that pool in our recreation program is, with the exception of the highway department, one of our largest expenditures. The town of Le Roy spends approximately, I just did the numbers this morning, approximately $150,000 a year on the pool and rec program. And based on the agreement when the pool reopened in 2008, because it had been closed for two years, the village kind of backed out, or didn't want to operate it anymore.
“The village only contributes $11,000 a year. So the bulk of that financial burden falls to the taxpayers of the town. And that's another reason, that it's town and village taxes that pay for it.”
The rec program employs a staff of 40 people, including five lifeguards, for the pool and two parks. They try to open up by the last week of June and remain open through Labor Day, but it’s heavily dependent on staff schedules, he said.
Apparently, some people had signed into the rec facility using Le Roy Central School as their address, and once it was discovered that they didn’t live in the town or village, their membership fees were refunded, and they could no longer use the pool.
Farnholz admitted that “we’ve had a few” nasty comments online, which more recently prompted his own response:
“Yesterday, there were many people commenting on the policy for pool usage on this site. This site was meant to be informational not for what it turned into yesterday. We try to teach young people about cyber bullying but clearly that message has fallen on some deaf adult ears. To the point at which one of our staff was sworn at and spit at by an adult. Please understand this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. Future incidents of this nature will be handled by the LeRoy PD. If you have issues with Town policy, the Town Board meets on the second and fourth Thursday of every month. If you have an immediate concern call the town hall and I will be happy to discuss it with you. In the future we will close the comment portion of this page as the comments from people who don't live in LeRoy or Stafford or even in NY state will no longer be tolerated. This program is run and paid for by your Town Taxes. School taxes have no bearing in this discussion. In the future please address your concerns to myself and the Town Board.”
Jim Farnholz, Supervisor, Town of LeRoy
“The school taxes have absolutely nothing to do with it, which seems to kind of confuse people a little bit. But the ire and the manner in which these people were expressing themselves just got to a point where it needed to be addressed,” he said. “And I did so; it was just unacceptable for people seeking conflict, showing up at the pool.”
At least one person took him up on the offer and asked to be put on the board’s agenda for Thursday’s meeting. Farnholz didn’t foresee anything changing with policy, but he reiterated that “people are welcome to come in and express their concerns.”
Not everyone online was against the town’s policy, including Di Dillon.
“When I was growing up in LeRoy, where I lived all my life, when the pool opened up, it was just for the LeRoyans. We all paid to get in. That’s when the town owned it,” Di said. “Now someone else owns it, and it’s up to them to set the rules. They offered other towns nearby to help with the reopening costs and management fee, and they declined. now they want to come and use it. I think they should stand their ground.”
There are valid reasons for keeping a lid on the 230 limit, Farnholz said. He recalled, about “four or five years ago when we first started taking a look at some of the numbers.”
“We had one weekend where we had over 800 kids in the pool between Friday and Sunday. So, that gives you the idea of, did we have extra lifeguards on? And that's really the issue. It’s paid for by the community, and we can't really fit anybody. It just doesn't work that way,” he said. “I was, like, horrified, and I worry about those things.”
