NEVERSINK — At the Wednesday night Neversink Town Board meeting, Swim Program Head Janet Carey raised key concerns and logistical hurdles in integrating the Town’s established aquatics program with the new summer day camp being operated in partnership with Frost Valley YMCA.

The discussion, which began with Carey acknowledging she had not been involved in earlier talks about the camp, quickly evolved into a detailed exploration of the complex regulations and staffing nuances that come with blending the two programs.

“I wasn’t involved in any of the initial discussions,” Carey said, “[But] it’s my understanding that Frost Valley is staffing and running the camp—except for the aquatics portion, which hasn’t been staffed.”

Councilperson Nicole Gorr confirmed that Frost Valley had opted not to hire aquatics staff, instead assuming the Town would absorb that component into its own swim programming.

Seamless idea, but 

complicated reality

What seemed like a simple solution—having day camp participants join the Town’s swim lessons—soon unraveled under the weight of Department of Health (DOH) regulations and programming incompatibilities.

“It just seems like a seamless idea,” Carey stated. “Unfortunately, day camps don’t work that seamlessly when it comes to aquatics.”

Unlike Neversink’s five-week progressive swim program, the Frost Valley camp operates on a weekly basis, with some children only attending for one week. Carey likened the challenge to suddenly dropping new students into a school class midway through the semester.

“You know how different it is to teach eight-year-olds compared to teens,” she explained, drawing a comparison between her two pools—one serving elementary students, the other older youth. “Mixing them doesn’t just affect logistics; it impacts safety, lesson progression, and training.”

Carey proposed creating a separate swim period for camp participants, a solution that, according to Carey, Frost Valley’s Director of Community Programs Tonye Freeman supported.

Talking transportation

A major issue that continues to complicate the plan is transportation. While the main swim programs take place at the Neversink Firehouse and Grahamsville pools, the camp is located at the Grahamsville Fairgrounds and lacks transportation to other facilities.

“I just wondered if it had been discussed—why Frost Valley couldn’t use their own vans to bus the kids to the pool,” Carey asked.

Town Clerk Staci Conjura and Gorr explained that the cost of transportation—due to insurance and staffing—would be prohibitively expensive for the Town. Frost Valley did not offer to fund transportation either.

“I remember [someone telling me] Rolling V charged a lot,” Carey said, “but I couldn’t understand why Frost Valley wouldn’t use their own vans.”

Safety, compliance and 

infrastructure needs

Efforts to create a safer environment for young children in deeper pool areas were also thwarted by Department of Health (DOH) regulations.

Carey described how she researched hanging platforms to section off shallow areas, only to learn from the Board that such modifications would not be approved.

“That kind of squashed the conversation,” said Town Supervisor Chris Mathews.

Still, Carey remained focused on long-term solutions, advocating for a better-designed children’s pool. 

“If we could make one improvement, that would be it,” she said.

In the meantime, she emphasized the need for proper training for both the town’s aquatic staff and the camp counselors who would be assisting in the water—most of whom are unfamiliar with aquatic supervision responsibilities.

Training and timing

To ensure safety, Carey offered to train Frost Valley’s camp counselors to become Water Safety Instructor Aides—a process she already implements with her staff.

However, she cautioned this would take time and potentially impact the pool’s usual opening schedule, which follows local school graduation.

“If I’m training day camp staff, morning swim staff, and afternoon staff, I might need a little more time. That could affect our payroll and scheduling,” she noted, adding that her pool budget is divided between morning instruction and afternoon municipal operations.

The discussion closed with recognition of the challenges, but also with a spirit of collaboration in the very near future to explore training options and operational compromises.