“Frisby said he felt many pools were ‘concrete, ugly spaces.’ The YMCA pulled out beach chairs and lawn chairs to ‘make it look like a country club, but not a country club,’ according to Frisby. ‘When the pool area looks better, people treat it better. We want to give residents what they deserve: a stellar, safe and self-inviting pool.'” – Trenton YMCA CEO Sam Frisby, June 23, 2015
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“When the pool closed, they would come in around midnight and party. We would have to come in to repair the fences, clean up the condoms, beer bottles and other stuff and then get ready to open up the pool for camps at 10 a.m.” – Sam Frisby, July 21. 2016
Trenton’s public swimming pools are in the news this week, and not in a good way. Last night, City Council ratified the recommendation by the Eric Jackson Administration to cancel the contract between Trenton and USA Management, a Georgia- based company that had been awarded the management deal for the pools this summer. Although the pools had been open for only around 4 weeks this season, the City had already fallen two weeks behind in its payments to USA, and the company could no longer float (sorry) their payroll expenses until Trenton paid its bills. The Company requested to be let out if its contract, and the City agreed. Taking over for the remainder of the summer will be the Trenton YMCA, which managed the pools in 2014 and 2015. The “Y” was the only other organization to bid for this contract. Its proposal was about 40% more expensive than USA’s.
Add one more disgruntled business to the list of those unhappy with their experience working with this town. In the flurry of media articles over the last few days, LA Parker of the Trentonian reported that USA had provided to him a recording of a phone call, allegedly from Trenton’s recreation director Fiah Gussin. Parker reports the recording as saying, “I was calling in regards to not speaking to the media in regards to what’s happening here in the city of Trenton with our pool program.” Mr. Parker calls that recording, if it is from Ms. Gussin, an attempt at a cover-up. I won’t disagree.
Why might the City’s Rec Director want to cover up “what’s happening here?” Why might USA be disgruntled and unhappy about their experience with the City of Trenton? Apart, that is, from not getting paid, which is plenty reason enough to me.
Thankfully for us, USA ignored this alleged advice in regards to not speaking in regards to what’s happening. A spokesperson for the company spoke to Cristina Rojas of the Trenton Times, who suggested that their company had been set up by the City. Elle Anderson of USA told Ms. Rojas, “We did get a source that had communicated that (the city) had no intention of paying us and that we were considered their budget relief so they could let us go and pick up with the YMCA who they wanted to use in the first place, but could not afford,”We did get a source that had communicated that (the city) had no intention of paying us and that we were considered their budget relief so they could let us go and pick up with the YMCA who they wanted to use in the first place, but could not afford.” That’s quite the allegation, for which Ms. Anderson offered no proof. But the Trenton “Y” will be running the pools from August 1 to September 12, for the reported sum of $158,160. This amount is only slightly less than the amount that USA had agreed to take to manage the pools for the entire summer.
Trenton once again is resolving its problems the way it always seems to: by spending its way out of them.
Why are the “Y’s services so much more expensive than the vendor it is replacing. According to Mr. Frisby, his workers provide more services than USA. As reported by Ms. Rojas, “The bid required one lifeguard for every 60 swimmers, but the YMCA’s standard ratio is 30-to-1.” So, despite what the City asks for in its Request for Proposal, the YMCA wants to provide twice as many staffers, whether the pools need them or not. “The YMCA’s standard ratio” apparently counts for more than the city’s specifications, I guess.
For another example, as quoted at the top of his piece, the Y crews spend time each morning cleaning up from unauthorized overnight use, when people “come in around midnight and party,” in Mr. Frisby’s words.
This troubles me a lot, and hasn’t yet come up in any of the news pieces I’ve read so far, not addressed by anyone in the City, the two vendors involved, or by the reporters. Mr. Frisby acknowledges this late-night activity as a matter of fact. It seems to be pretty regular all over town, and very well tolerated and accepted. It’s even built into the schedule, when pool crews “come in to repair the fences, clean up the condoms, beer bottles and other stuff and then get ready to open up the pool.” (So much for “When the pool area looks better, people treat it better,” by the way.)
What happens when something goes wrong? What happens when someone gets hurt? What happens when a midnight partier gets drunk, falls into a pool and drowns? What happens when someone gets assaulted, sexually or otherwise? Who is responsible? Who is liable?
Remember that in 2010, a 3-year-old drowned in a Trenton public pool. Four years later, the City settled with his family for $1.5 Million, admitting that the lifeguard on duty at the time of the accident had been distracted. That sad incident happened during regular public hours, with trained and certified lifeguards on duty. Who is liable for an incident that might happen during an overnight “party,” when the pool’s managers – and the City?? – have full knowledge that such parties happen on a regular basis? Not only does Mr. Frisby not seem to describe any actions to the press that he and the Y take to prevent such partying, he charges the City of Trenton a premium to clean up after overnight parties on a regular basis.
Does that sound right to you? Mr. Frisby admits he openly condones and accepts potentially dangerous breaking and entering on City property on a regular basis. On the strength of that statement alone, I think the YMCA has disqualified itself from being considered a responsible manager of public facilities on the City’s behalf. It’s probably to much to ask for the City to cancel the new contract with the Y and look for yet another vendor, but it’s certainly reasonable to ban the organization from any future contracts such as this one until it demonstrates a commitment to safety and security of the sites it manages.
This is all pretty upsetting. There are a lot of issues here to address, and as usual in this town, nothing will likely be done. Until something shocking and tragic happens. We can’t say we weren’t warned.
I’m surprised to hear about this sort of thing happening, with new problems the City is experiencing with its purchasing, contracting and accounting processes. It doesn’t seem that much has changed since all of the substantial management changes and business procedure upgrades implemented since the City was swindled out of $5 Million by its payroll vendor Innovative Payroll Services last year.
Oh, that’s right! Silly me! There have been no management changes nor business procedure upgrades since IPS ripped us off last year!!
So, in other words, same old, same old in the City of Trenton. Six years running, and no sign of any change in the future.