Asheville residents dismayed by Malvern Hills pool closure, demand answers from city

ASHEVILLE - When a beloved community pool closed its gates at the end of last summer, neighbors expected that come Memorial Day, it would open, same as always.

But a Feb. 1 announcement that 90-year-old, city owned Malvern Hills Park pool would be instead be closed threw the neighboring community into disarray, for many igniting the age-old tension of tourism versus community needs.

“These facilities, these public spaces, are the points that build the fabric of community," said Brooke Heaton, who lives in the neighborhood. The pool is where he brings his 6-year-old son in the summer.

"It’s a place where you can gather for free or for very little and you can catch up with your neighbors. And that really is a disappearing option in this town where everything seems to be a boutique hotel or a nanobrewery with the latest fluffy IPA."

There was a similar announcement of closure in early summer 2022 after the pool's annual inspection with Buncombe County Environmental Health identified a drain cover had come out of compliance with newly updated federal pool regulations. Less than a month later, there was a surprise reversal with a temporary solution found to carry them through the season, and again through last summer "using short-term fixes."

But this time, Asheville staff concluded the pool can no longer be repaired. It's $400,000 for immediate safety repairs, said Parks and Recreation Director D. Tyrell McGirt, but additional significant repair is inevitable.

There have been no decisions on the future of the pool, McGirt said Feb. 21. A new pool would cost upwards of $1.5 million, not including support facilities such as restrooms, parking, an accessible entrance, building renovations and other updates to bring it up to code.

The city operates two other public pools, at the Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Community Center and Recreation Park, as well as the free splash pad in Pack Square Park downtown. Buncombe County runs five outdoor pools.

'Save our pool'

A "drop-in" format community meeting drew a crowd to the cafeteria of Lucy S. Herring Elementary School Feb. 21, a few streets over from the pool. People gathered, kids in tow, hoisting poster board signs, flush with frustration.

Parks and Recreation spokesperson Christo Bubenik said 115 people signed in on their way into the meeting, though the true number of attendees is likely higher. Of these, the vast majority live within a mile of the pool.

What began with attendees milling around at work stations, able to speak one-on-one with city staff members, with no presentation planned, transformed into an impromptu Q&A — triggered by a group of elementary-age kids, leading a chant of "save our pool."

Some community leaders stepped onto the tables, voices raised, to call for a dialogue. Dozens of people gathered in a loose circle, McGirt at the center, Mayor Esther Manheimer and council member Kim Roney a step behind.

Other council members, Sage Turner and Maggie Ullman, were standing elsewhere in the room.

"This is their right as a child. It's part of growing up," said one attendee, shouting over the room's buzz of conversation. "Is that just going to stop? It can't stop."

It's a pool that serves children of color in the neighborhood, said Federica Collina, also at the meeting, who lives in the neighborhood. With no membership required, a low entry fee and its location near a city bus line, "there's nothing else" to take its place once it's gone.

“That whole population is cut out from having a pool for summer," Collina said. "I understand it’s $400,000 to fix this pool, got it. I understand it’s $2 million to build a pool, but it’s $2 million to build a pool that lasts for the next hundred years.”

Residents ask: Why was there no plan?

Sally Grau, a West Asheville resident, among those behind a "Rebuild Malvern Pool" petition that had 1,400 signatures as of Feb. 22, called for the city to work toward a solution. She and others pointed to a 2015-16 pool assessment, which found it had "seen its life use” and recommended “not to put more money in the current pool.”

It also recommended the city develop a plan for construction of a new pool that will "meet the needs of the community."

It's been eight years, Grau said. With this knowledge, she asked why the city did not earmark bond funds for the pool's care or did make a long-range plan for the pool.

This was a refrain of the night. Why wasn't there a plan for succession?

It's an answer that comes down to system-wide aging infrastructure, said Manheimer. She pointed back to the 2016 bond package, when voters approved a $17 million bond referendum for major improvements to parks and community centers throughout the city.

The three pools were studied, and the city moved forward with replacement of the Walton Street Pool, a fixture of the southside neighborhood, constructed in 1947, which was closed in 2021, in large part due to costly mechanical and structural problems.

“One of the first steps when you’re going to start repairing and replacing city assets is you’ve got to do a study. But just because you study something doesn’t mean you have money, at that moment, to repair and replace everything that you’re studying," Manheimer said. "You’ve got to get your arms around how much it’s going to cost and what the needs are."

As McGirt told the assembled crowed, “there is a lot of need across the system. This is one broken asset." But as he pointed out, Parks and Recreation is charged with care of 65 public parks, playgrounds and open spaces.

“Malvern Hills is still a special facility, we get it," he said. "But we are having to make some tough decisions about where investments are made in the system. That’s where we are right now.”

Over the past eight years, McGirt said, more than $2 million has been invested in pool improvements, including construction of a new pool at Dr. Wesley Sr. Southside Community Center, replacing the Walton Street pool.

“If the decision is to invest in (Malvern Hills Park pool), I would not recommend making these ($400,000) repairs," he said. "I would recommend just rebuilding the pool.”

A new GO Bond?

The city is exploring another GO Bond referendum in 2024, and Manheimer said while details are still being discussed, the Malvern Hills Park pool is something that would fit into a Parks and Recreation package, though it's not the only way to potentially fund the project.

“I think what we saw tonight underscores how important this pool is to the people in West Asheville, and I totally understand that. I grew up lifeguarding at city pools, I’ve been around pools for many years, and I know how important it is to families and kids and grown-ups alike,” Manheimer said.

“I’m hopeful that we can put together a plan. We know we’re going to have to build a new pool, eventually. ... You can only fix this pool so many times. The question is, can we do anything to try to keep it open in the meantime?”

Of the meeting's turnout, Grau said the pool's neighbors came with a "problem-solving mindset." Several neighborhood association leads were present, including Malvern Hills, east West Asheville and Rhododendron Creek.

“There was some anger and frustration, but I think that everybody left maybe with a sense of hope that funding could be found," Grau said. "My takeaway is, we’re not going to be silenced and we’re going to keep marching until something is done to open the pool."

In order to determine next steps, McGirt said they are looking toward the city's ongoing development of Parks and Recreation's updated comprehensive plan, which will inform future investments in Malvern Hills Park and the city's aquatics facilities.

Development of the plan is currently entering its second phase of engagement with additional feedback opportunities in March to help rank community priorities, including a March 27-28 public workshops. The completed plan is scheduled for presentation to City Council for acceptance in June.

Grau said the community is organizing to ask the city to commit to rebuilding the pool at its current location, and are asking that this be the No. 1 budget priority in the Parks and Recreation plan.

More: West Asheville's 90-year-old Malvern Hills Park pool will not open in 2024, city says

More: Asheville schools consider potential middle school reconfiguration among $4.5M shortfall

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email [email protected] or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Residents rally behind West Asheville pool, object to closure