The Hidden Dangers of Shrewsbury

Here's the pool house that official city literature claims will "soon represent a hazard" to our populace. It must be replaced--immediately--at a cost of over a half-million dollars.

Seriously, walking around the structure reveals a building the likes of which "aren't built anymore". For one, it's brick. Two, the exposed eaves and undersides of the roof are thick, solid wood in what appears to be very good condition.

Of course, I'm not a structural engineer. But neither is Barry Alexander, Bert Gates, or -- to my knowledge -- any of the Board of Aldermen. To accept a statement as ridiculous as they one they are proposing is irresponsible.

If -- and this is not even remotely established -- but if the pool house had any structural problems, why replace this heavily-built and completely functional structure completely? Is there no way to spend, say, 20% of the proposed cost of a new building and give this one a nice rehab?

For a building that's used maybe four months out of the year, I think that would be a fair compromise, IF it was even needed.

I guess in the world of other people's money, the sky's the limit.