The city of Elmira is set to demolish the nearly 100-year-old Brand Park memorial pool.
City officials pushed through a resolution last month to demolish the Southside structure using money from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARP).
The city was required to designate the federal funding by Dec. 31, 2024. Elmira has until 2026 to spend the funds.
The plans for the site include a proposed splash pad where the pool currently sits and new playground equipment for the park. Both will cost the city nearly $1 million combined. The project will be paid for by the ARP funding.
City Manager Michael Collins said that while it was not an easy decision to make, 20 years of neglect made the pool too costly to fix.
“I don't think that that was ever going to be our intention to restore it and keep it active,” said Collins. “When the ARP monies came in, we thought that it would be best utilized to demolish it.“
It is not clear how much it would cost to upgrade and maintain the current pool structure. Officials did not provide a dollar amount when asked by WSKG.
Jim Hassell helped form the Committee to Save Brand Park Pool. The committee worked last summer to urge the city to save the pool structure and reopen the pool for residents of all ages to use.
Hassell said downtown revitalization and historic preservation are only part of the reason to keep the pool in the community. New York state has a program to fund public pools called NY SWIMS. However, the city did not apply for the grant.
“We kept telling them, look, all you need to do is apply for their grant. If they turn you down, and you don't get the money, then do what you want,” expressed Hassell. “If you have to tear down the pool, fine, but at least give it a chance."
The grant offers up to $10 million to underserved communities to build or rehabilitate public swimming facilities in areas that “lack access to safe swimming and outdoor-recreation opportunities.”
Elmira did not apply for the grant because the city council already decided to tear the pool down with the ARP funding before the state announced the grant, according to Elmira Mayor Daniel Mandell.
“Almost every single member of council knows it's not feasible to keep the pool—that it had to come down, especially the person that the district the pool’s in, Jackie Wilson,” said Mandell. “She totally agreed that the pool needed to come down and that we needed some type of either water feature or a splash pad in there to replace the pool.“
Wilson was among six council members who voted in favor of tearing down the pool.
Councilmember Nicholas Grasso was the sole “no” vote. Grasso has objected to the city’s handling of federal funds meant to help with the city’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayor Mandell said the maintenance, staffing and liability are all less with a splash pad than a pool. He said that even the water usage for the proposed splash pad will be at no cost to the city because of its agreement with the Elmira Water Board.
The Brand Park memorial pool is the only public pool located in the city.
It is not clear when the demolition will take place. City officials said it should be before spring.