AMHERST — During a hot spell at the beginning of summer, more than 1,000 people took advantage of the town’s offer to cool off, for free, at War Memorial Pool.
The 1,056 free swims between June 20 and 24, along with the 630 swim lessons during summer camps and more than 300 youth and adult swim lessons, indicate to town officials the value the 1950s-era pool, located at Community Field between Triangle and Mattoon streets, brings to Amherst.
But the future of War Memorial, with the pool at Mill River Recreation Area in North Amherst one of two full-size outdoor pools in town, may depend on moving forward with a $2.8 million project to build a new bathhouse.
The Department of Public Works and the Amherst Recreation Department are requesting $1.5 million from the Community Preservation Act account to supplement $1.25 million in previous allocations to pay for the building, with bathrooms, showers and changing rooms.
At a recent CPA Committee, where various requests for funding were presented, Assistant DPW Superintendent Amy Rusiecki made the case for supporting the bathhouse.
“It is in rough shape, it is well beyond the useful life of it,” Rusiecki said.
Previously, Rusiecki said the bathhouse annually struggles to pass inspection so it can safely be opened, with rusted pipes, the bathroom and shower floors in bad shape and concrete brick walls beginning to crack. Rusiceki said workers are still spending a lot of time and money on upkeep and maintenance each year.
In addition, the cement block building that opened in 1953 has other problems, such as providing no space for those who don’t identify as male or female, and having no area for families to enter the pool together.
The latest project plans are scaled-back from a previous $4 million proposal from Kuth Ranieri Architects of Franklin. Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said officials went back to the designers to make changes to bring forward a more affordable project.
Under the plans, the new building would go up on a deteriorating basketball court on one side of the pool, allowing the current building to be demolished.
A Parklands Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities state grant had been expected to supplement the town funds, though it’s unclear if that money will be available, due to what Rusiecki said is a challenging grant environment.
Becky Demling, outreach director for Amherst Recreation, told the Recreation Commission that War Memorial hosts 90 swim lessons a day during the summer and campers also use it for open swim.
But nonbinary campers don’t feel comfortable changing at the pool, prompting the department to institute a requirement that all changing be done at the middle school.
Demling said the recommendation is against closing the pool, which she said because it is often less crowded than Mill River, means it is more comfortable for certain swimmers.
“It really is a vital pool to multiple individuals with special needs,” Demling said.
The price tag for the work, though, remains a concern.
“That seems a big number to me for redoing a bathhouse,” said CPA Committee member Tim Neale.
“It just seems for $2.5 (million), it should have heated floors or a mausoleum,” said Recreation Committee member Chris Pariseau.
The CPA Committee could be deciding the value for having two outside swimming facilities rather than just one.
War Memorial was built about 20 years before the pool at Mill River, but the pool was renovated in 2012. Though more lightly used than Mill River, War Memorial remains the primary pool for summer camps, due to its proximity to the high school and middle school.
Rusiecki said renovations to the existing bathhouse was looked at carefully, but the cost was only slightly lower, due to the need to bring the space up to code and to have a nonbinary and family restroom facility.
“It got very big very fast,” Rusiecki said, adding that the foundation of the building also would need to be addressed.
The CPA Committee is expected to start deliberations on this project and others on Jan. 15.
The Recreation Commission, which received oral comments in support of the bathhouse, is endorsing the new building, as well as other recreation-related projects, such as pickleball courts that would be constructed at Groff Park on Mill Lane.
Among those who spoke in favor of a new bathhouse was Bob Newcomb, a former Amherst Tritons coach and member of a masters swimming team.
“It is just not a clean or safe facility and is not a good representation of Amherst,” Newcomb said. “The value of War Memorial Pool is definitely hindered by that object.”
Jon Henry, a teacher at the middle school, said his three daughters are on the swim team and one worked as a full-time lifeguard, seeing the problems firsthand.
“The drainage and overall layout of the facility needs to be updated,” Henry said.
Rusiecki said money for the bathhouse project is necessary.
“The grim news is this project we’re at a point where we need financial support, where we’re not going to be able to limp it along much longer,” Rusiecki said.