EDITORIAL: Pool agreement something to work with in the short-term

Published 9:09 am Monday, March 16, 2020

Baldwin County and Georgia College recently established a new partnership, long in the making, that will open up the GC pool to the public this summer. 

After years of back and forth on the public swimming pool issue, this is a big step. 

The GC pool will be accessible to the general public from June 1 through Labor Day for the next three years thanks to a new three-year agreement.

Advocates have lobbied county officials for more than a decade now for a new public pool since the old county-operated pool was covered back in the early 2000s. While this recent step will likely not satiate those who have long-desired a new water park or splash pad, this certainly helps. But while the community enjoys public access to the GC pool this summer, we mustn’t lose sight of the goal of getting adequate funding and a solid plan for a new aquatics facility. Keep in mind that this project was included in the last 1-cent sales tax initiative and an aquatics committee, comprised of community members, was formed to explore the possibilities. 

We recently heard from commissioners that plans are still in the works for a new water facility, but on a much smaller scale than the $15 million vision of the aquatics committee. An update on the developments for a new facility would go a long way in reassuring local pool lobbyists that the project isn’t being pushed down-stream yet again, as many have contested in the past. That update, county officials said, is in the works. Even if questions remain after the presentation, some news is certainly better than no news at all, particularly on such a long-standing project as this. 

As aquatics committee member Crawford Finley, a long-time advocate for a local facility, said to county officials recently: “An aquatic center is needed for all the citizens. It must not be for one group. It needs to be for everybody. And I think that the community could benefit. …”

The county needs a facility that is financially feasible and can reasonably be maintained that can be built upon if that’s what the community chooses in the future. It needs to be as centralized a location as possible and accessible to the public. 

We’ve heard the conversation, the supporters and the detractors, for several years now. It’s time for the community to help the committee craft a vision and move forward to something tangible. 

We’d like to see an update on the project soon. In the meantime, however, it’s good to know that there will be a pool accessible to the public this summer. This isn’t a perfect solution and it mustn’t be looked upon as a long-term plan, but it’s workable until an operational plan for a county facility is solidified. Again, not perfect but it’s something to work with.