Syracuse Pool will not reopen
The London Pool also referred to as the Syracuse Pool will not reopen and is set for demolition. Carrie Rose photos.
SYRACUSE, Ohio – The London Pool will not be reopening again.
Citing costs and ongoing issues, the Meigs County Commissioners chose to not open the pool this year. During a regular meeting on April 30, the commissioners voted to return ownership of the property to the Village of Syracuse. Syracuse Mayor Eric Cunningham sent a resolution passed by village council to take back the property provided the county paid for demolition of the pool. Meigs County Commissioners Shannon Miller and Zach Manuel voted to approve the resolution from Syracuse. Commissioner Jimmy Will was not present for the meeting, but agreed with the decision.
Commissioner Will had previously spoken with the Meigs Independent Press about the efforts that had been taken to keep the pool going for the past three years. There are multiple issues with the pool which make costs and attempting to open again impossible for the county.
According to Meigs County Auditor Mary Byer-Hill, in the past three years more than $300,000 has gone into trying to keep the pool going. In 2022, $98,000 in capital improvement money (which comes from the state) was part of that funding. During that three year period, $16,000 was received in donations. The pool brought in a total with attendance and concessions $69,000 for three years. The Meigs County Commissioners had been taking money from the general fund to prop up operations and pay for the pool get and stay open for the three seasons.
Auditor Byer-Hill said there remains $155,000 that went into the pool still owed to the general fund.
With continuing to loose money, it was not feasible to open it again along with other issues. Meigs County is facing litigation following an incident from last year at the pool. Issues with leaking, the decking, and overall facility originally built in 1977 have all compounded to bring the end to summers at the public pool.
“I don’t have any regrets trying to operate the pool. We did it three years. We had $98,000 capital budget money and $16,000 in donations. It costs a lot of money to operate and maintain and is probably at the end of its useful life. We have an ongoing litigation from an injury. There are no grants or funds to run and operate pools. We have exhausted all resources. Not every idea works out or becomes what you want it to be but at least we tried and turned the stone over to find out ourselves. I believe something good will come of this closed door. I want to thank everyone for their generous donations and time spent working for the pool,” said Commissioner Jimmy Will.
The cost of demolition of the pool has been estimated to be $27,500 according to the resolution from the Village of Syracuse.
