Help move the aquatics facility project forward

Published 8:28 pm Sunday, August 5, 2018

A few months ago, a group was assembled and charge by county officials to develop a plan for a local aquatics facility. The members of the Baldwin County Aquatics Committee have since been busy researching and developing that plan, which committee members say they anticipate presenting to county officials sometime in the fall. 

While the committee is comprised of a diverse group of local residents, it’s a small group, charged with coming up with a plan for a major project that will likely cost a lot.

This is a new endeavor for all of those involved. That’s why its imperative during this planning phase that local residents step in and help push the effort beyond just a vision and into the tangible phase by providing their own feedback and sharing their thoughts.

Committee members have provided regular updates to Milledgeville City Council and Baldwin County Commissioners and thus far, the committee has visited facilities in other communities to gather ideas. 

According to committee member Crawford Finley, who recently updated county officials on the project, they are working on a series of phases for the project with a more detailed plan to be presented at a later date.

While members of the committee have been busy in recent weeks touring facilities in other communities, the more tedious phase of the project’s development will no doubt be finalizing an agreeable location that meets the needs of the entire community and everyone who will utilize the facility.

Of course, developing a plan funding for the project is also vitally important, but that will largely be determined by the size and scale of the facility and how much it will cost. That’s why compiling feedback is key. That’s where the community comes in. Committee members and county officials need to know what local residents desire in an aquatics facility. That could be anything from a splash pad or lazy river on the small scale to an indoor pool on the large scale. The size and scope of this project need to meet the needs of the community and fit into what is financially feasible — but committee members need to hear from local residents to determine that. 

The committee has indicated that members envision a year-round facility of some kind but they need to also hear what other local residents think about that idea. The committee has developed a survey to gather feedback on the project and determine what the community envisions. Take a few minutes to fill out the survey, available on the committee Facebook page, and give your thoughts: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5B529BR

Remember also that committee meetings, held monthly, are open to the public.

More information is also available on the Baldwin County Georgia Aquatics Planning Committee Facebook page. 

There has been a lot of conversation about a public pool since the county pool closed several years ago. The Baldwin County Aquatics Committee is now charged with moving the conversation forward and figuring out a plan to get this project up and going. But they need to hear from local residents in order to craft the vision for what this project is actually going to be. Now is the time to have a say and help determine where the future of public aquatics facility goes from here. 

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.