EATONVILLE, Fla. — A public pool in the historic town of Eatonville is now getting a second chance after being closed and locked up for years.
Last year town officials said there were no funds to make the $120,000 in needed repairs to the pool, which had been closed for nearly five years.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
Charles Bargaineer used to watch generations of kids and seniors learn to swim and have a sense of community. But for years instead of creating memories, it has collected swampy water, weeds and cracks.
“When the pool was up and running it really meant a lot to the kids,” Bargaineer said.
Read: Eatonville residents push for pool to be restored
In May, someone from the town volunteered to drain and power wash the pool, and it turns out it only needed a new pump, which brought the price tag to revamp the pool from hundreds of thousands down to 10s of thousands.
Mayor Angie Gardner said the town will use its own money to buy the pump.
Read: Eatonville OCPS property no longer being sold; here’s why
“One of the problems in the past is that we have not just kept the pool and other structures in the town on a maintenance schedule,” Gardner said.
The city said it will also look at ways to pay to keep up the maintenance so the pool gates can stay open.
Read: Community split on effort to turn abandoned property into museum space
Gardner said the town plans on ordering the pump within the next two weeks to get this pool open as soon as possible. In the meantime, any kids in the town are able to get transportation to local pools if their part of the town’s summer programs.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group
