Town pool opening in question

by Tom Chillemi – 

Among the most relevant items in the proposed fiscal year 2021-2022 Urbanna budget is lack of funding for the town community swimming pool to open this year. Councilor Bill Goldsmith, who serves as chairman of the finance committee, explained that an engineering study found safety defects in the pool, which is 53 years old. The study revealed water quality and structural problems.

The study also found that the diving area was not deep enough, so the diving board was removed. The study determined the shallow end of the main pool was not deep enough for competitive swimmers to do flip turns safely. The problems, according to the study, make it more expensive to repair the pool properly than to replace it, said Goldsmith last week.

Goldsmith told council at the March 11 meeting the town needs to check with its insurance company to see if there are things to be corrected and to be sure the pool is covered by the town’s insurance company. “We want to make sure the pool is not only safe in our eyes, but safe in the eye of those that insure us,” Goldsmith told council at that meeting.

Council has not discussed whether the pool will be open or closed this season. It usually opens around Memorial Day. The pool was not opened last year due to COVID-19…