I am in favor of an affordable pool in town. The "Family" pool off of 155 is not affordable or conviently located for the kids in town. I am also sure that they don't want a group of teenagers hanging out there all the time. Bulle Rock pool is not assessible to the general public. I have teenagers in my household. They are not allowed to swim in the river because I remember when Mike Pangburn died and now Mike Sawyer's death. My kids are constanly begging me to go swimming but the closest pool is in Conowingo. (I know there is a pool in Aberdeen, but you have to be a member or pay a higher rate.) The pool in Conowingo is affordable but inconvient to drive all the way up there. We need some place here in town for these kids to go where it is safe. I would pay higher taxes if my kids had a place to hang out besides my house.

I'm gonna go ahead and say throwing a pool in the new school plan is probably gonna be a bad idea. First off, they haven't even gotten the study off the ground, and a Havre de Grace Community pool should really be it's own enity, not tied-up [or hog-tied] by the county or the HCPS.

A community run pool (i.e., HdG Parks & Rec) would likely be the best approach for a "City" pool. The City having a pool is LONG overdue! Properly designed, established, maintained, and operated, the pool could be profitable for the organization running it. It takes a dedicated staff to be able to run such a facility though, and not-for-profit groups have floundered in this county in the efforts to run a pool. If one is to be built, it will need to be run properly, with the right programs, and management.

If a pool is incorporated into the school building, it will be controlled by people in Bel Air. Having spent most of my school years in Bel Air, I would hope that Havre de Grace can be master of their own pool, and still have it available for the swim team. We really owe them a better practice location, and a pool large enough for meets. There has been a lot of talk about using areas for practice fields. How about some of that area being set aside for an olympic size pool. I imagine that for the space that would be needed, the number of people who would use it would make it cost effective. And we would then have a huge reason for the river being less enticing. First we need the land - land that does not belong to the county, and then we need a few benefactors. Once upon a time one of the local residents came up waith personal funds, but that situation never worked out. The football stadium is proof that it could be done. So let's get started.

we have been losing kds every summer. how many more will we have to lose i grew up in this town and know what its like to see the water and not have a place to swim now you have conds that have thier own pools but still no place for everyone i say hdg step up to the plate before we lose another child. dianne a

This. city has NEVER cared about its youth! They only care when a tragedy occurs because they like to say, "we told you not to do that" but, they never care about community buildings unless it's for the senior citizens! Why would they change that now? Mike Sawyer didn't matter to them anymore than the other kids who have drowned in the river.
How about making sure there's emergency devices available at the swimming hole, and all of the kids who swim there are shown how to properly use them, as well as making sure they know first aid and cpr! That's an immediate and more sensible solution than wishing this city would, for once, care about our kids! I care about them and, the above is my immediate plan!!

Where I grew up, Arlington County, VA, pools were added to the high schools back in the late-1970s. The pools are run by the county's Rec and Park, but they are year-round indoor pools with swimming and diving lanes. They hold swimming and lifesaving classes, senior swim and open lap swimming, scuba lessons, early bird lap swims, swim and dive team practices, etc. I don't remember much in the way of open pool sessions. The pools are more dedicated to instruction and swim training. -Walt

The Aberdeen Swim Club pool is now run by the Harford Boys and Girls Club, as I understand it. The summer rates were lowered considerably over the previous management. Thought this information might prove helpful. Most private pools are heavily endowed; most community pools are tax-supported. Pools are very expensive to maintain and operate and represent community-shared costs, whether privately or publicly funded.

Insurance and maintenance costs for pools is incredibly high. Community pools are closing acoss the country due to spiralling costs. It is not a matter of not caring for our cities' youth, it is a matter of not having money. Someone has to pay the bill.
I grew up swimming in the river at a community beach. Well maintained, clean, with an area for competitive swimming. It was the hub of the neighborhood. We could improve the existing swimming area- rope it off, new dock, lifeguard- and possibly create a new HDG tradition and safe place for teens and families to gather. Instead of being afraid of the river, embrace it. Teach our kids how to swim, and how to drown proof, and these tragedies will not happen anymore.

Chesapeake Swim Club, located on Bayview Dr., is a wonderful pool open to all who wish to join. There are memberships for the summer, for individuals and monthly. They are open Memorial Day through Labor Day, have a diving board and swim lessons and offer facilities to host events outside of pool hours. They also have weekly potluck gatherings during the season. The cost is very reasonable, compared to joining a gym like Bel Air Athletic Club or Arena Club and has been reduced to rates seen in 1990. I hope that folks will consider this pool as an option. There is more information at their website ChesapeakeSwimClub.com

Chesapeake Swim Club is fine for families with small children but is not an option for the teens who live downtown and don't have the funds to join. There needs to be a safe, affordable swimming facility downtown if we don't want to see another tragedy like this one. I like the idea of cleaning up an area of the river, roping it off and providing flotation devices so that the kids may more safely swim there. However, I don't see it happening because the land along the riverfront is privately owned and no one wants the liability. Also, I just want to point out that the kids who swim at the swimming hole CAN swim. One of them is even a life guard although he was not there on that fateful Saturday (and feels guilty because of that). They went out too far and were caught in a current. If there is a designated area for swimming, this can be avoided.

As for the Activity Centre, I believe that if people had known that there would not have been a pool included as promised then they would not have contributed to it. I'm glad I didn't. However, I would be very happy to contribute to providing a safe, accessible pool or swimming area for the local teens.

I have been pondering this thought for many years since I have kids growing up in this community. When I grew up I had the Elks pool to go to and my family spent many days there. I thought when the activity center went in there was talk of putting a pool there but that has not happened so maybe I was wrong. I know a pool cost a lot but look what the Boys and Girls club did for the Aberdeen pool. They stepped up, offered a low rate for membership, and are getting new members all the time. I say if HDG can't or won't put in a pool then provide some type of community transportation at certain times of the day to take people to and from the Aberdeen pool. I am sure that will rise the membership at the pool helping the pool out and also help the kids out so they can get there. With the economy these days a lot of families are forced to walk everywhere so if it is not in walking distance then the whole family suffers from it. I say have the county step up and have designated times to put the county buses in service to give rides back and forth to the pool. That is not asking too much if it means saving a child's life!!!!

I think a riverside pool area would be wonderful. The children is this town SHOULD have such a place to go. Years ago when my grandfather was on the council my mom said he always wanted to built one on the island in Tydings Park with a small bridge over. That would have been wonderful, but I hear the water would not perk right to build there. Maybe we go a step further and make the pool a wave park! In Vista, CA the parks and recs built a Wave Park and it is pretty reasonable and profitable too. There is even a program where others donate funds for the kids who cant afford a summer pass. It is great program. They do this too with a great Jr. Lifeguard program that runs all along the coast from San Diego to Los Angeles. Kids could take lifeguard lessons and run the pool for minimum wage. I was always impressed with the young adults who worked at this facility. Also Redondo Beach, CA has a pool built right into the coast line using ocean water and building a sandy beach. It is a wonderful tourist attractions, and community pool. We swam in the river, at the Elks pool and the great big pool on the river in Port Deposit from the 1950s - 1970s. We should at the very least teach the children in school not to go swimming in the river, EVER, without a safety flotation device. I say build it and they will come!! They should have NEVER closed the Elks pool. It was perfect. It is past the time to give the kids a pool. One request....make sure it is a salt water pool.

I'm not sure that the Aberdeen pool is a solution, even if transportation could be provided. In the past, kids under a certain age (can't remember if it was 18 or 16 yrs. old) could not be at the pool without an adult present. We need to provide a youth center where our school age children can go and do things. There is absolutely nothing for kids to do if they don't drive. And if we do somehow figure out where to put a youth center, we have to provide transportation to all of the youth in the area, because the kids in town can't safely acccess the neighborhoods on the hill, and the kids on the hill can't safely access areas in town.

I've been out of town for much of the past two weeks, and have only know about this tragedy through what I've read in the Patch.

My very first thoughts were of the effort that a number of community leaders, including former Mayor Phil Barker led to try and raise money for a Community Activities Center. A pool was supposed to be the centerpiece of that effort.

They succeeded to the degree that Mayor and later County Executive Craig were able to deliver on a Community Activities Center, but the pool remained a dream. It was hinted at as being the next step in some undefined future.

Perhaps its time to bring that undefined forward.

Pools are not free. I did a quick google search and a good number to start with would be about a million dollars to build one. Community pools require locker rooms, rest rooms, a break room for the guards, and stuff like that. Here’s one town’s estimate: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/prns/Aquatics/documents/Pool%20Cost%20Estimate.pdf.

According to http://www.havredegracemd.com/pdf/demo-income-profile.pdf the number of “households” in HdG is expected to be 8,680 in 2013. Of those households 32% earn less than $49,999 per year. So I’m going to suppose that a luxury item like a pool membership may not be in the budget. That leaves 68%.

According to that same HdG study, they expect 19.4% of the population to be between the ages of 5 and 19. I would expect most people this age, have sufficient free time in the summer, and would want to swim on a regular basis. I’m going to guess there are 2 children per family.

Bulle Rock already has a community pool so they have no reason to go downtown and join the HdG community pool. I don’t know how many households are in Bulle Rock. I’m going to guess 10% of HdG lives in Bulle Rock.

So let’s run the numbers and see if a pool is a commercially viable business opportunity for our wonderful city
8,680 X 68% = 5902.4 (families with enough disposable income)
5902.4 X 19.4% = 1145 (swimming age children)
1145 / 2 = 572.5 (families with children)
572.5 X 90% = 515 (families outside of Bulle Rock)
A 20 year loan at 6% for a million dollars cost $85,971.72 per year. If all 515 families join the pool, the total cost will be $167 per year for the construction. That does not include the cost of the land and any operating costs. Operating costs include: life guard & management salaries, electricity, insurance, maintenance, etc. I don’t know how much these costs are, so this is a rough idea of the construction costs for a community pool in HdG.
Again: The construction cost is $167 per year split between 515 families for 20 years.

YES. And any city leaders worth their salt should make it so- community center, riverside, or otherwise. My wise old Grandmother angel used to say ,"I can't means, I won't" and " Where there is a will there's a way."
For now, make regular scheduled transportation to the Aberdeen pool available as a stop gap measure.

I am a student at HDG high, and was good friends with mike. He had the same mind set as any other teenager would, if we have nowhere else to swim, there are hundreds of acres of water in our backyards. I'm sure all of you have seen the article and news reports about the mayor putting up signs for no swimming, but really, if your were a teenager again, would you pay attention or listen to those signs? No. They only way this can be stopped is by building a pool, and i think the only reasonable place to put it is at the Rec Center across from the middle school. Kids already go there to play backetball, and a membership is only five dollars there for a whole year, so make a membership for the pool 10 dollars or something, i know plenty of high schoolers who are lifeguards at other pools in harford county who live in HDG. I stongly believe in what i just put, and plan on going to the city council meeting on monday to fight for what i believe in, and makethe pool a memory of Michael Jerome Sawyer. R.I.P. Mike love you bro

I still think what I suggested a couple days ago about a cleaned up underwater area and roped off area in the river where the kids like to go would be a step towards safety. Kids still want to swim in the river and make the memories like we made when we were kids. It would be a faster solution for the summer which would then give time for petions to start and be passed around at 1st friday tomorrow to be presented to the Monday night meeting. Start the bakes sales and fund raisers since we are now in our busy tourist season ( which is what the city seems to be geared for any more instead of thier own) . It may take a few years to do it but it could be done just like the football field.

I don't understand why pools have to have a "membership". Why can't they be run like the ice skating rink or any other similar business where an entrance fee is charged? It would make it much more affordable and more people would make use of the facility, bringing in more money.

A pool is a great idea. But let's face it... WE ARE YEARS AWAY from a community pool. We need something rather quick. A private investor could be the solution. And low daily fees must be a requirement. I grew up in Germany. Things may be different there. I don't know, if that is an option: In Germany there are many man-made lakes. Some are fenced in and run like a community pool. The maintenance would be not as high as for a pool. Plus, we would create seasonal jobs not only for young adults. This is the link to the community lake, where we lived before we moved to Havre de Grace. We really enjoyed going there and I miss it so much. Take a look at the pictures…
http://www.altlussheim.de/buergerinfo/oeffentliche_einrichtungen/sport_und_freizeit/blausee

In the 1950s my brother gave 12.00 dollars from working as a paper boy to the city of havre de grace so they could bild a swimming pool, We never got the money back and havre de grace still has know pool? Horace Barnaby

Building a community pool sounds like a great idea. But the cost associated with it is enormous! I am a homeowner in HDG and we have a pool in our community. In addition to the cost of building the pool and all of the costs that go along with that, we pay a hefty fee every month to keep that pool open in the summertime. As a child, I did not grow up with a swimming pool in my community. We just made do with what we had. It is very sad that we lose people every year to drownings but unfortunately, a lot of the time these drownings are preventable. In this most recent case, I question why on earth someone would want to swim in the river in the middle of February! Sad... but raises questions.

Has the City ever considered building a Spraypark instead of a community pool? The advantages are there --
- Attractive Combination of Above-Ground and Below-Ground Water Features,
- ADA-Compliant,
- Cheaper to build and maintain than a community pool,
- Significantly Less Labor,
- Automated Chemical System,
- Water Gets Recycled (and treated),
- Kids of all Ages Love them.
- And Best Yet, The Anchoring System allows you to swap out different features.
- Examples -- Go to http://www.ppciusa.com/sprayparks.htm