OCTOBER 29, 2007, FARMINGVILLE, NY – Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley, Councilwoman Carol Bissonette and YMCA officials celebrated the opening of the Mastic Pool on Monday, October 29.

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley shakes hands with YMCA Executive Director Donna Boyle after they cut the ribbon to open the Mastic Pool on Monday. At far left is Brookhaven YMCA Board of Managers Chairman George Hoag and next to him is Councilwoman Carol Bissonette.

   “I am so glad to be here today to celebrate the opening of the Mastic Pool,” said Supervisor Foley. “This community has been waiting far too long for this pool to open, and I am happy that the residents of the tri-hamlet area now have their pool back. This pool is used by everyone in this community—children, families, high school swim teams, senior citizens—and it is great to have this great facility back in operation.

   “The delays in finishing this pool were due to the failure of previous administrations to properly plan for this project. This Mastic Pool saga was even more than a case study in bad capital project management—it was a prime example of the disasters that can happen when you have no capital budget management at all. Previous administrations threw good money after bad and the project became a complete fiasco.

   “When my administration took over, we had a great deal of work to do to get this project back on the tracks, and we did. And this kind of capital project boondoggle will never happen again with the new capital project engineering team I have put in place. The bad old days are over.

   “We intend to dig to the bottom of the mess that this project was for far too many years. The Town Law Department has retained outside counsel who are doing a review of all procedures and payments involved with this project with an eye towards civil action to recoup expenses, and to advise as to whether there are any matters which should be referred to other authorities for separate handling.”

   “We have waited a long time for this grand re-opening of the Mastic Pool,” said Councilwoman Bissonette. “ I am delighted that at long last the residents of Council District #6 patience is being rewarded. Once again, our Seniors will swim for health and well-being, our adults, for recreation and athleticism, and our youth for the learning experience, sport and shear joy of being in the moment. May this day mark a new beginning for this town facility and for all our residents.”

   “We are very excited to be able to offer the constituents of the Mastic, Moriches and Shirley areas this newly renovated aquatic facility,” said YMCA Executive Director Donna Boyle. “We look forward to operating this state of the art pool -providing quality programs and services for this community for many years to come.”

Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6955 • Fax (631) 451-6677