With one of Boston's two outdoor pools in such bad shape it can't open up this summer, neighbors in Charlestown held a meeting Wednesday to ensure the facility gets fixed.
Serious structural issues were discovered at the 73-year-old Clougherty Pool this spring, including exposed live wires underneath it, the potential that filtration tanks could burst and deteriorating support columns, the city has said.
"The condition of the Clougherty Pool facility has raised serious safety concerns, and we are unwilling to jeopardize the safety of the pool's patrons and the staff," the pool's website says.
Wednesday's meeting with city leaders comes after an online petition calling for immediate repairs gathered more than 1,700 signatures.
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"Just to see the gates closed and not as many people up here, it’s sad," said Mary Gillen. "It's a great resource for our community."
Mayor Michelle Wu has previously said that necessary repairs on the pool had "been kind of kicked down the line until now."
Peggy Sindoris, who attended Wednesday's meeting, has been in Charlestown for 82 years. She lives in the house where she was born, she says. And just about all her life, she's been going to Clougherty Pool, known locally as "the Bunker."
"I swim there, I live right across the street. I come out my door, and I walk to the pool," she said.
"We're not rich, OK? We have a lot of poor people in this town," one woman said at the meeting.
"This shouldn't be about us vs. you, it's about all of us working collectively," Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia said.
"This is your tax dollars," City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune said. "That pool is your tax dollars, and you deserve to see it in function."
The city has another outdoor pool, Mirabella Pool in the North End, and there is an indoor pool nearby at the Charlestown Community Center
"We did not make this decision lightly," Marta Rivera, commissioner of Boston Centers for Youth & Families, said in a statement Friday. "This pool is a well-loved community resource that will be missed this summer but ultimately the safety of our patrons and our staff is the priority and we cannot guarantee that the BCYF Clougherty Pool is safe to open."
Lifeguards are being redeployed throughout the Boston Centers for Youth & Families swimming network, the agency said.
