Laura Incalcaterra

lincalca@lohud.com

It's a beautiful day at Germonds Pool, where the water sparkles under a cloudless sky and the sounds of splashing, laughing and conversation carry across the park.

But a closer look also reveals yellow caution tape in sections along the main pool, put there to alert residents to use care because the liner has developed ripples and is no longer entirely smooth, Clarkstown Recreation and Parks Superintendent Jo Anne Pedersen said.

The county Health Department required the town to use the tape as a condition to remaining open this season after an annual inspection, Pedersen said.

The pool, which was built in 1973 and had its liner replaced only once, has been leaking and is in need of repair, she said.

"We've gotten our money's worth," Pedersen said.

The town first needs to determine what the problems are, something that could be as simple as needing to replace the liner or as complex as needing to replace the piping system.

The town has hired the Long Island-based deBruin Engineering company to investigate. The company, which is being paid $14,000, will begin conducting pressure and other tests the day after the pool closes on Sept. 1, Pedersen said.

A report is to be provided to the Clarkstown Town Board in time for its Sept. 23 workshop, she said.

Germonds Park has three pools – the main pool, a kiddie pool and a pool with a 151-foot slide, along with ball fields, basketball courts, a playground and miniature golf course on more than 78 acres in West Nyack.

The pools share a common piping system versus individual systems. The main pool is leaking and it unclear if it's just the liner or the liner and the pipes, Pedersen said.

Germonds hosts daily swimming for individuals, families and the town's day camp, offering adult lap swims, swimming lessons for all ages, swim teams and other programs.

Pedersen said she visited other pool repair jobs overseen by deBruin last summer and that in those cases, the pools were able to reopen in June so the 2014 season was uninterrupted. She is hopeful the same scenario will be possible for Clarkstown.

So are the swimmers who are regulars at Germonds, including new Army veteran Michael Lacombe, who visits the pool three times a week.

He has a membership to an indoor pool, but prefers Germonds.

"I'd rather swim outside rather than inside," Lacombe said.

Barbara Johansson said any loss of pool time "would be a real hardship for a lot of people" and she hopes any work can be completed so the 2015 swimming season isn't interrupted.

"I come here every day," Johansson said. "The camps come here. I swim laps. I meet and greet people."

The town's Parks Board and Recreation Commission is involved in the pool effort, as is Councilwoman Shirley Lasker, who serves as the Town Board's liaison to the PBRC.

"I think it's the Town Board's intent, and I can speak for myself, we want to keep the pool the way it is and make the repairs," Lasker said.

Twitter: @LauraInc15