Pols dive into FSU pool fight
Swim groups pushing college to fix and reopen the facility
For months, residents have been calling on Fitchburg State University officials to keep the Recreation Center Pool open. But to their dismay, mechanical issues have left the facility closed for weeks and local athletes have been forced to swim elsewhere.
Now, several state legislators are throwing their weight behind the issue, joining the chorus of voices advocating for the pool’s repair and reopening.
On Jan. 14, Sen. Dean Tran wrote a letter addressed to FSU President Richard Lapidus expressing his continued support for the reopening of the pool.
“This facility, which has been in operation for almost two decades, has provided many benefits to the local community,” Tran wrote. “Swim teams and recreational swimmers routinely made use of the pool for their weekly practices and activities. Closure of this pool has forced the relocation of these groups to other facilities, creating an overall negative impact on our community.”
Tran continued, saying that while there are significant hurdles to reopening the facility, he is committed to assisting the university in whatever way possible to get the job done.
“Providing a common gathering place for local swimming enthusiasts and teams is essential for both the university and community as a whole,” he added.
Lapidus said the pool’s closing in early December is only temporary and he hopes to find a permanent solution soon.
University officials have expressed concern about a lack of revenue and declining attendance at the facility. Their concerns extend to the price tag
associated with fixing the pool that was built in 2000.
Supporters of the pool deny those assertions and instead argue the pool is a great asset to local students, clubs and programs. They also would assert the pool has been mismanaged, under marketed and has the potential to make additional revenue through offered programs or rentals.
Rep. Natalie Higgins also expressed her support for the pool and the residents fighting to keep it open.
“I am very proud of the advocacy efforts of the FSU community and larger Fitchburg and Leominster community coming together to save the pool,” Higgins said in a statement. “I remain hopeful that President Lapidus and the Board of Trustees will work with them to come up with a plan to repair and maintain the pool, as it is an important resource in the Twin Cities.”
Rep. Stephan Hay re- portedly sent a letter to the university in support of the pool, but did not respond to a request for comment.
Nancy Foss-Yasko, chair of the Preserve the Pool Committee, said she’s happy to have the legislators’ support but her main goal is to get the pool up and running again.
However, she said, the university is making it increasingly difficult to achieve that goal.
The committee and several student athletes attended a Board of Trustees meeting on Nov. 5, prior to the pool’s closing, to show their support for the facility.
At the meeting, university officials promised the issue would be formally placed on the agenda for its meeting on Tuesday.
University Director of Public Relations Matthew Bruun said an oral report about the pool will be given by Lapidus during the board’s meeting.
Foss-Yasko said she hoped the committee would be giving the presentation and that the university was trying to siFoss-Yasko.
lence their efforts.
“This is just not right,” she said. “We’ve been putting our own presentation together and this is just so frustrating to be essentially shut out like this.”
“As always, there will be
an opportunity for public comment at the opening of the meeting,” Bruun said. “The issue is not going to be on the agenda as an action item, as any operational decisions about the facility will be made by
university administration.”
Fass-Yasko said the university has demonstrated gross incompetence in its handling of the pool issue.
“The pool has been mismanaged for years, resulting in this atrocity,” said
“I and the many taxpayers of the commonwealth are outraged at the negligence and poor administration exhibited by the university.”
In a recent Letter to the Editor, committee member Stephen Holt said the university hasn’t been cooperative during the process.
“Instead of allowing us to be part of the solution, FSU has pushed us aside,” Holt said. “We speculate that FSU has its own agenda of permanently closing the pool.”
Holt said the pump replacement costs are low when compared with the money spent on landscaping in front of the building.
According to Foss-Yasko, the committee was told by university officials that the pool needs $400,000 in additional funding for the repairs. However, she said no estimate was provided to confirm the price tag.
“We owe this to the community to uncover what the true issues are, before it is too late,” she wrote in a letter. “Once this pool is destroyed, there is no turning back.”