Ramapo officials: Saddle River Pool closed due to costly repairs, low number of lifeguards
News 12 was told that Ramapo plans on hearing ideas from town residents later this year or early next year about the future of the pool.
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Ramapo officials said that Saddle River Pool will be closed this summer because of costly repairs and a low number of lifeguards among other factors.
"So, I'm going to say upwards of $125,000," said Michelle Antosca, of Ramapo Parks and Recreation, about the cost of repairs. Ramapo Town Supervisor Michael Specht also points out the low number of lifeguards.
"Towards the end of the summer, there were days when we had to close this pool or Spook Rock Pool early, or not open, because we didn't have the lifeguards that we needed," Specht said.
They also said Airmont pool is mostly used by out-of-towners.
According to Specht, about 96% of the visits in 2022 were not by Ramapo residents.
Spook Rock Pool is still open only for people who live in the town.
News 12 also heard that some residents never knew Saddle River Pool would not reopen this year.
Specht said Saddle River was not included in the annual summer parks and recreation booklet.
The only other announcement was a post on Ramapo's Parks and Recreation Facebook back in February. Now Ramapo's Parks and Recreation plans to tell residents more.
"So, we do like to get an early start on it, but we could certainly do maybe an online reminder later in the spring toward the summer," Specht said.
Whether or not the pool will reopen next year remains a question because officials said they are considering changing it to be some other type of park.
"We did what was in the best interest of the town for now, and hopefully in the future people will be impressed with what we can turn this into for the residents," Antosca said.
News 12 was told that Ramapo plans on hearing ideas from town residents later this year or early next year about the future of the Saddle River Pool property.
