Vandalism Closes Albany Pool Due to Broken Glass

The outdoor swimming pool next to Albany High School was closed today, Friday, after teens threw beer bottles over the fence overnight, leaving broken glass on the concrete deck around the pool.

The Albany Aquatic Center pool did not open at its regular 6 a.m. opening time, but after all the glass was cleaned up, it was expected to reopen at the 4:15 afternoon start time, said pool director Amanda Garcia. 

Video cameras recorded the three or four teens who threw the bottles in the early morning hours from the outdoor basketball courts next to the pool, Garcia said. Police are investigating the incident in an attempt to identify those responsible, she said.

She said four 40-ounce beer bottles were thrown over the fence, but that only one broke, with the others landing intact in the water or on the tarp. Two beer cans were thrown over also. She said police may be able to get fingerprints from some of the items.

Video cameras recorded up to 15 teens on the basketball courts this morning between 12:35 and 3:02 a.m., she said.

Patch has requested information from Albany Police.

It was the third incident of vandalism since the pool opened 15 months ago, Garcia said.

The first incident, in the spring of 2012, involved vandals hopping the fence before the current bars were installed and pushing the lifeguard stations, along with large, heavy reels for tarp and lane lines into the pool, she said. Bars, with pointed ends at the top, were added after that incident, Garcia said.

The second incident, in October last year, involved chairs and pool covers thrown into the pool and liquor bottles left lying around. Some broken glass was found on the deck with a "minimal" amount in the pool, she said. Video cameras were installed after that incident, Garcia said.

In today's incident, no glass was found in the pool, Garcia said.

Garcia said the pool is a resource for the high school and community, and that she doesn't know who would do it.

"If it was the kids from this community, I don't understand why they would do it. It's really sad."

If enough glass got into the pool that would require draining it, the cost would exceed $23,000, she said, adding that the pool holds 336,000 gallons and that it costs 7 cents per gallon to drain it.

"It would make a huge impact on this program if we had to drain, clean and refill the pool," she said. She said the pool is drained at certain intervals for regular maintenance at a cost built into the budget but that extra draining would create an unfunded cost and extra interruption.

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