Aug. 5--NORWALK -- Members of the Norwalk Facilities Construction Commission were updated Tuesday afternoon on the newly developed plan to keep the Norwalk High School pool in operation.

Earlier this year, the Board of Education cut from its 2009-10 operating budget money to operate the pool -- part of larger budget cuts by the city amid the recession.

The plan to keep the pool going entails reducing operating costs, principally electricity, and gaining a revenue stream by charging organizations that use the pool, according to Mark Gorian, director of facilities and maintenance for Norwalk Public Schools.

"Essentially, the goal I've established is this year to get the operating costs from $124,000 down to about $81,000," Gorian said. "Those operating costs could be shared among the major users. Beyond that, we're trying to get it down to the area of $62,000 to $65,000."

Electricity can be saved, he said, by cutting back when the pool filtration pumps and dehumidifiers operate. Gorian described the dehumidifiers as an "energy hog." The plan calls for putting the pumps, dehumidifiers and heating and ventilation systems on the school's energy management system, according to Gorian.

"We can benefit from turning these (systems) on and off," Gorian said. "We're looking at shutting off the pumps a couple hours a night, when the pool isn't being used."

The changes won't come without their own costs.

Labor, equipment, materials and computer software and hardware to better manage the various systems, along with adding a pool cover, is projected to run up to $65,000. That expense, however, would pay itself off in about a year and a half through electricity savings, Gorian said.

"The main point of this is going to be the computerized automatic controls that will turn (the systems) on or off," said Mayor Richard A. Moccia.

Gorian plans to return to the commission in September for permission to proceed with the upgrades. The engineering work would be done in house and could be paid for with money leftover from the Norwalk High School renovation, or larger schools overhaul project, Gorian told The Hour.

The Board of Education now foots the bill for the pool, and organizations that use the facility are not charged.

Under the plan, the city's Department of Recreation and Parks, the Norwalk and Brien McMahon high school's swim teams, ZEUS Swim Team, Target Training and Adult Education would pay. The projected collective annual revenue is $90,250.

"One of the difficulties is the pool isn't a separate building, so we can't rent it out. So our options to increase revenues were limited," Moccia said. Overall, the plan is "sort of a mosaic of everything: New fees, new groups, new engineering and new revenues sources."

"I think we're on the right road. We're going to keep the pool open and people in it," Moccia added.

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