WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — Another community swimming pool is closing, this time in Willoughby.
The city said repair costs to fix up the Willoughby Municipal Swimming Pool are just too expensive.
“It’s actually really sad because there’s not many public pools in the area,” said Willoughby resident Adria Dirosa.
Dirosa told News 5 that she and her son, Greyson Candelario, were sad to first learn from us that the Willoughby Municipal Swimming Pool has seen its last days.
“I’m just sad. I went here in the summer last year, and I loved it. Now it’s closing, and I’m sad,” said Candelario.
Dirosa and her family live about five minutes away from the pool on Euclid Avenue, and she said they enjoy using the area’s amenities on warm days like Wednesday.
“It was nice to bring the kiddo up here to hang out with his friends outside of school in the summertime, so the fact that there’s not going to be a public pool, is actually really sad,” said Dirosa.
Willoughby Mayor Robert Fiala said he understands why it’s hard for the community to say goodbye, especially since the pool has been around since 1965.
“My kids went to this pool, and they swam for the Stingers, so we understand it completely,” said Fiala.
But Fiala said the pool’s conditions are worsening, where there is significant cracking along the edges and sides of the pool deck due to about 3,500 gallons of water leaking per day when the pool is in use.
Fiala also said the thickness of the pool’s concrete is deteriorating in some areas, which he said poses the risk of collapsing.
“There’s too many things to repair and it’s going to cost too much,” said Fiala.
Over the last 10 years, Fiala said the city has invested more than $250,000 worth of repairs and even did renovations about 20 years ago.
Yet, at this time, Fiala believes it’s better to close the pool down and use the property to build a better aquatic facility rather than invest more money.
“We’re trying to assure our community that we’re not giving up on this site as an aquatic amenity,” said Fiala.
The city plans to offer transportation from this pool to Osborne Park Pool, which is less than a 10-minute drive, but Dirosa said it won’t be the same.
“It’s nice that there’s transportation but it’s still not home,” said Dirosa.
“While we’re going to lose something for a short period of time, we’re going to come back with something we hope is going to be better,” said Fiala.
The city is hopeful it will have a consultant on board to design a new aquatics center by this summer.
In the meantime, Fiala said Osborne Park Pool will go back to full hours and allow pool parties and pavilion rentals at the park now that they will have enough lifeguards on staff.
