Vernon Town Council Awards Contract to Replace Horowitz Pool at Henry Park
(VERNON, Connecticut) – The Vernon Town Council this week voted 10-0 with one abstention to award a $1.247 million contract to Juliano’s Pools of Vernon to replace Horowitz Pool at Henry Park.
Horowitz Pool opened to the public in August 1953 and was in service through 2019. In the early 1990s there was a renovation project to extend the pool’s useful life.
Over the years, Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours maintaining and improving the pool. The structure, now 70 years old, is beyond its useful life.
Since 2018, the Mayor, Town Council and town staff have examined a variety of options, including replacing Horowitz Pool with a year-round indoor aquatic facility, another seasonal outdoor concrete pool, and a splash pad. The project cost of the indoor facility and outdoor concrete pool were in the millions of dollars.
In November 2022, the Town of Vernon published legal advertisements in the Journal Inquirer and on the Town and state Department of Administrative Services websites seeking proposals for the replacement of Horowitz Pool. The Town conducted a mandatory walk-through of the pool site for all contractors interested in submitting proposals.
The proposal from Juliano’s Pools, submitted in December 2022, is to remove the existing gunite pool and concrete deck, conduct necessary grading and earth work, build a new sewer line from the pool to the sanitary sewer on South Street, replace the concrete deck and install a new commercial-grade heavy-duty vinyl membrane lined pool that is the same size as the existing Horowitz Pool. The pool liner will be 60 mils thick, three times thicker than a household pool liner. The kiddie pool will also be replaced.
“The proposal from Juliano’s Pools is a cost-effective way to replace Horowitz Pool,” Mayor Dan Champagne said. “Horowitz Pool is important to so many people in Vernon because it brings back fond memories and is where so many of us learned to swim.”
Brian Juliano, owner of Juliano’s Pools, said he learned to swim at Horowitz Pool and has a vested interest in doing what is best for the community. He said the pool will have a life-time warranty and that he intends to personally oversee construction, which is estimated to take thirteen months.
“I spent a lot of time in that park and in that pool and it means a lot to me and my family,” he said.
The projected lifespan of the 60-mil pool liner is about 15 years, Juliano said. Rips and tears can be easily repaired through a process called thermal membrane welding, which leaves the repair as strong or stronger than the liner, he said. Repair and replacement of a liner is a more long-term and cost-effective solution than a gunite pool, he said. It also is more resilient to New England winters, the freeze-thaw cycle and hydrostatic pressures, he said.
The Horowitz Pool reconstruction project will be paid for using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funds. The Town Council unanimously approved using ARPA grant funds for the pool.
The Horowitz Pool house will be renovated by the Vernon Public Works Department, also using ARPA grant funds unanimously approved by the Town Council.