As the City of Globe gears up to prepare its next budget, one important discussion will be whether to fix the Community Center swimming pool, closed since 2014 due to excessive leaking – and the proposed renovation has raised concerns among advocates of a regional aquatic center.

During their April 27 meeting the City Council heard a presentation on the $1 million pool repair from Erik Wurn, business development manager with Structural Technologies. Structural Technologies had submitted the proposal four days earlier. Wurn said the restored Community Center pool would be a long-term fix that should last at least 25 years. “It’s going to look like a brand new pool at the end of the day,” he added.

The proposal is based on a 2018 study of the pool shell and pump room by Structural Technologies and Structural Preservation Systems; both are part of a Maryland-based company with nationwide offices, the Structural Group. The work would include concrete repairs; crack repairs; a new gutter system, pool liner and vacuum sand filter; new plumbing, ladders and deck coating; and an ADA lift. The project would cost $1,080,000 and be finished in an estimated six and a half months.

After Wurn’s presentation, community and council members got to address the proposal.

Standing at the podium, Evelyn Vargas, chair of the Cobre Valley Regional Aquatic Center board, read a few comments from a stack of unofficial surveys on the table beside her. “We received over 1,000 surveys and there are probably two negatives,” she said. “I am here today on behalf of the aquatic center, and on behalf of this stack of people right here.

“We are at a pivotal point where we can unite. We can pool our knowledge, energy and skill together and build one water center that can be enjoyed by all,” Vargas said. “We have one chance to make a great difference for the next 25 years. Maybe we can accommodate two different water facilities, but if that’s not the case what the community center will be is a rectangular pool without any amenities. People will continue to drive 45 minutes to the nearest aquatic center - because that’s what children, kids on swim teams and young moms with several kids are looking for.”

Frank DalMolin was among the community members who saw it a bit differently. “When I was a child here there were three pools – the community center, Central School and Miami - and we’re down to none,” he said. “They’ve worked very hard on having the aquatic center. It’s a hard battle for funding, like everything. I applaud the city for looking into this and wanting to do something. It certainly wouldn’t be bad if we had both, but I think we should go forward and get a pool for the kids to enjoy.”

In an email to the council, Globe resident Mindy Bradley expressed reservations about the proposed repairs. “This is a short-term solution when we need to be working toward long-term solutions like a regional pool. I understand that people want somewhere to swim. But the Miami pool should have taught us that putting money into an antiquated facility is essentially paying for a Band-Aid on a festering wound that needs bigger, more complicated care.”

Bradley wasn’t alone in making that analogy. Caller Chelsea Webb also compared the renovation to a Band-Aid, a characterization Wurn and Councilman Freddy Rios disputed.  “When you have an opportunity to possibly bring the pool back, 25 years is not a Band-Aid; it’s a generational fix,” said Rios.

“Our community center is a pillar in this community, and bringing this pool back to life would just increase the value of the pillar. I truly believe this community and this region can support more than one pool. I really believe the aquatic center will happen; we’re just going to have to find ways to get there,” Rios added.

Vargas argued that the center would also benefit seniors, giving them a safe way to get into the pool. “A lot of elderly people don’t want to use a lift. They don’t want to give up that small piece of independence,” she said.

Emailer Angela Hardy, who said she was a former vocational rehabilitation counselor for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, was opposed to the idea for related reasons: Pool users who are unable to operate the lift due to disabilities, people who are afraid to get on or off the lift seat or have difficulty doing so, the additional training needed for lifeguards and users, and the likelihood of children playing on the lift. “A zero entry or sloped pool would, in my opinion, be a better investment,” Hardy wrote.

“I think it’s wrong to consider this a zero sum decision that you’ll take when the budget comes up,” City Manager Paul Jepson said to council members. “I wholly support the aquatic center, but I also know the city of Globe misses their community pool. I don’t see how this city can move forward with the new things and advancements without fixing that hole in the heart of Globe. It’s memories and it’s historic.

“If we are able to fund this this budget cycle, we’re looking at a September start date [for the pool restoration]; we’re talking a May 1 opening,” Jepson added.

Councilman Mike Pastor said it was “not an impossibility” to achieve both a reopened community center pool and an aquatic center, but added that the restoration appeared more doable. “Right now I think the pool is what we need.”

Councilman Fernando Shipley disagreed on the chances of backing both facilities. “If we put $1 million into that pool and three years from now they have enough funding to move forward with the regional pool, you’re not going to pony up another $1 million and then spend more money to man that pool. I don’t see that we can do both; I would like to but just don’t think it’s realistic.

“We should give the aquatic center an honest chance, and if it’s not viable then fix the pool.”

Speaking last for the council, Mayor Al Gameros acknowledged it would be a difficult decision. “At this time we can’t afford both options, but can we three to five years down the road? In the future, I think our community can afford both. This gives us something we can do right away, or at least for next summer. We have to provide some kind of recreation for our kids now, especially coming out of Covid.”

As the discussion wrapped up, Jepson said he and Vargas had talked about the city contributing $120,000 a year toward the aquatic center’s operations and maintenance. He asked Vargas how soon the center would need that money. She replied that they were looking at capital to build as well as maintenance and operations. “We want to make sure we have maintenance and operations secure first. I would say, to answer your question, at least three years out,” she said.