The Westbrook City Council is conducting a feasibility study to see if building an outdoor pool at the community center is a viable plan.
The city may build a new pool at the community center while considering other water features at the recreational center, shown here. File photo
The pool at the Cornelia Warren Outdoor Recreational Complex at 489 Main St. was closed in 2020 due to the pandemic but never reopened due to its poor condition, including cracks in the foundation. The city has considered a number of places it could be relocated to including a location off of Foster Street and previously looked at keeping it in the same location.
Community center Director Greg Post previously said the 426 Bridge St. location would be a good site, based on the flat terrain, proximity to a number of services and the fact that staff at the nearby indoor pool also work at the outdoor pool.
If the community center doesn’t work, Foster Street off Main Street near the river is being considered as an alternative location.
The city also previously floated the idea of a potential year-round hybrid indoor/outdoor pool, which the feasibility study could look into.
“We’ve suggested, while doing our due diligence, that we consider funding a pool that can be used 12 months out of the year instead of just 10-12 weeks,” Post previously said.
The study for the community center location would include contracting with S.W. Cole of Gray for geotechnical test drilling, capped at $15,000, and a $15,000 contract with Haley Ward of Bangor to design the pool. It would be funded by a $20,000 block grant and $10,000 in city funds.
“This work will determine feasibility for locating the outdoor pool at this location and what such a facility could look like if constructed,” according to city documents.
The recreational complex is being overhauled, but the location would still not be suitable for a pool, officials said, based on the rolling hills and uneven grounds that caused the foundation to crack and water to leak.
City Councilor Gary Rairdon said Monday that while he has heard many people ask for the pool to remain at the park, it isn’t cost effective and would last no more than half a dozen years or so before crucial repairs would be needed.
“Sometimes it is hard to say OK, we will get rid of the pool in that location,” Rairdon said. “We will still have a pool in the city, and I think looking at the community center, with after-day care, it is a hub where a lot of people go. Putting $2 million to buy us (a pool at the original park for) six years isn’t feasible.”
The city last year floated the idea of removing the pool and replacing it with a splash pad, but public outcry led officials to build a public pool somewhere in Westbrook.
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