Chatham To Vote On Community Pool

CHATHAM – At May’s annual town meeting, the town will dip its collective toe in the water to find out if residents are interested in exploring a regional swimming pool facility.

The select board Tuesday not only agreed to add a non-binding question to that effect to the May 13 warrant, but voted unanimously to support its passage.

In October, resident Roz Coleman first brought up the idea of collaborating with neighboring towns to develop and build a regional pool. Harwich resident Patrick Otton opened the spigot further last month when he submitted a petition for a non-binding resolution for his town’s annual town meeting warrant to gauge voter support for construction of an Olympic-size swimming pool at the community center on Oak Street. A positive vote would send a message to town leaders to consider including pool construction in the town’s capital plan, he said.

When the Harwich Community Center was built in 2000, rough plumbing for a pool was installed in case the town decided to add one in the future. Otton said a wing would likely have to be added to the facility for a pool, the cost of which was estimated at $18 million in 2018.

In her previous proposal, Coleman, a former finance committee member, noted that there is no municipal pool on the Lower or Outer Cape. While Nauset High School’s swim team uses the pool at the private Willy’s Gym in Eastham, there is no public pool available to Monomoy students to either learn to swim or for use by a school swim team.

For adults, she said, a public pool would help residents maintain their health through regular swimming and water sports. In October Coleman said two or more towns sharing the cost of construction and maintenance would make a pool more financially manageable.

Rather than diving in head first, she said, the non-binding question will allow officials to get feedback on whether residents think a municipal pool is a good idea.

As long as he has been following politics in town, board member Michael Schell said, a pool has been something people put at the top of a wish list. “I think this is responsive to that,” he said.

He added that there was enough interest in a pool for the town to spend thousands of dollars to study the viability of purchasing the defunct Chatham Health and Swim Club, which includes a small pool. Officials ultimately rejected the idea. The facility is now slated to be converted into a coffeehouse.

“It would be wonderful if we could do it for the schools and everybody, but the general sense is that we get this out there and find out what the general sense is,” Schell said.

If the resolution is approved, it will be up to the select board to determine the next step, said board member Dean Nicastro, including whether to approach Harwich or other area towns.

Chair Cory Metters supported the idea. “I think it’s worth the discussion,” he said. “I think we need to test the waters.”

“And pool our resources,” added Schell.