North Hills City Councilman David Cook explains to a crowd gathered at the 36th Street Church of Christ in Vienna that he has concerns that a damaged wall could be a hazard to kids if they voted to open the community swimming pool for the summer. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

VIENNA – After rescinding a previous vote to close the community pool, the North Hills City Council voted Thursday night to reopen the beloved gathering spot for the summer.

But there will need to be work done before that can happen.

“The reason I voted to not do the pool is the safety of that wall,” Councilman David Cook said. “We know we have a damaged wall. We don’t know what’s behind that. There’s no way I can vote for it as it is right now and feel good about myself … heaven forbid, a child be injured.”

Dozens of residents packed the 36th Street Church of Christ in Vienna to talk about the pool and what can be done to fix the wall.

North Hills resident Chris Campbell, president and owner of United Construction Company Inc., said he is willing to do the necessary work to fix the wall. He said he and his wife drive by the pool everyday.

Dozens of North Hills residents packed the 36th Street Church of Christ in Vienna Thursday night to urge leaders to keep the community pool open, presenting a new nonprofit structure, financial pledges and an offer of free structural repair to address safety concerns. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

“When we first heard about this … we just said we gotta do something,” Campbell said.

He gave his assessment of the problem, saying he doesn’t think it will be a big issue.

“What I see is, on that wall, it’s a stainless steel wall, it’s anchored at the bottom. It’s pulled loose at the top, on the north end,” Campbell said. “We take that one panel out if we need to. We… cut that section of concrete out (and) see what’s below. … Do I think there’s a big void below that? No. … If it is, the concrete wouldn’t be there. It would have cracked. There’s no stress crack in that concrete.”

Campbell went on to say he believes water from a stream could have caused leaking over the winter. Mayor Dale Baumgartner had a different perspective on where the leaking water could be coming from.

“That water on the other wall that you guys are talking about… it’s coming from the pool itself… the water jets aren’t sealed,” he said.

North Hills resident Chris Campbell, president and owner of United Construction Company, Inc, said he is willing to do the necessary work, free of charge, on a damaged wall at the community swimming pool to open it for the season. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Campbell estimated that, barring significant surprises beneath the concrete, he could complete the work quickly.

“What kind of time frame? … One week, but here again, there’s unknowns I don’t know,” he said.

Questions about how to keep the pool operating after this season were also brought up by council and residents. Baumgartner said it cost the city roughly $60,000 a year to operate the pool. He said the town has a history of stepping in financially, but there are concerns about continuing to pour money into a facility with growing repair needs.

“When we purchased the pool as the town, (we) saved it one more time,” he said. “The town’s been saving the pool for a lot of years … buying property, giving them loans … probably approaching, I’d say $250,000-$300,000 over time. … When we took it over, we made the town a promise that we wouldn’t let it just keep (being) an anchor. … When the wall starts falling in, we will not keep putting in money, your money. We won’t be bad stewards of your money.”

Kelly Fluharty, treasurer for the North Hills Pool Board, laid out a detailed plan to keep the pool operating, combining new memberships and donations, a nonprofit takeover, volunteer commitments and continued support from the YMCA to make the facility sustainable for years to come.

The North Hills City Council voted Thursday night to reopen the community pool after rescinding a previous vote to close it. The council said, however; that there is work that needs to be done before that can happen. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

“We did a membership and donation pledge,” Fluharty said. “We’ve already reached $36,000 in pledges through donations and membership and already over 100 memberships this year, which is roughly 10 less than we had going at the end of the year last year.”

It was said membership for the pool was down last year and that was attributed to competition from surrounding pools and lack of advertising. Fluharty said there were also missing pieces within the board.

“We’ve also filled all the roles for the board. We have a list of volunteers that can fill in for subcommittees. … We’re going to be able to market and generate more revenue this year with those other things to make up the money that we needed to open the pool,” she said.

Fluharty said to ensure the pool’s long�’term viability,the board has created a new nonprofit entity designed to operate the pool and unlock grants the town itself cannot receive.

“We’ve worked and started a 501(c) nonprofit, the Alt Swim Association Inc., to open the pool up to get more grant opportunities,” she said. “As where we sit now, they said we are not able to get them due to the amount of revenue coming into our city. This will take us out of that tax bracket and put us into a nonprofit … and be able to apply for more grants and opportunities.”

Fluharty said the articles of incorporation have been filed with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office.

“It’s currently being filed with the IRS for tax purposes, and then the pool can be moved into that entity and be able to apply for more grants and opportunities,” she said.

Fluharty said the nonprofit was named after “North Hills legend” Linda Alt. Many residents praised Alt’s dedication to the community pool and said she was willing to volunteer her services.

“Linda is the heart of that pool,” one resident said. “And people come to that pool because they know their kids are safe. … I truly, truly believe, with Linda coming back … that will get your numbers back up into the 150-160 range. … Linda’s coming back for free. She doesn’t want pay. She wants to come back for her pool.”

Residents framed the plan not as a request for the town to take on new financial burdens, but as a plea for the chance to operate and sustain the pool under this new model.

“There’s no complaint about the heart, the emotional connections this pool has to this community,” one resident said. “The point is, how do we figure it out? And can we figure it out? Will you give us the opportunity to figure it out?… We all know that there’s something to be saved, and we want the chance to save it. … Can we find a future for it?”

Council agreed and voted to let Campbell do repairs and open the pool for the season.

“Mr. Campbell, I’m counting on you,” Cook said.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com