Ever since the city decided last month to close the BCYF Clougherty Pool on Bunker Hill Street for the summer due to maintenance issues Charlestown residents have not been happy.
The last minute closure right before the summer was about to go into full swing left many frustrated that the city did not address the pool’s maintenance issues earlier.
In response, the Friends of the Clougherty Pool will be hosting a community meeting on Wednesday, July 13 as a follow up to the June 28 meeting that was attended by over 125 residents, elected and appointed officials.
The meeting will be held at 6 pm on July 13 at the Knights of Columbus, 545 Medford Street, Charlestown.
At last month’s meeting city officials reported that the pool had recently undergone a third party audit and the results of that report forced BCYF to close the pool for the summer. Citing the audit BCYF officials at the meeting said the condition of the Clougherty Pool facility has raised serious safety concerns and the city was unwilling to jeopardize the safety of the pool’s patrons and the staff.
However, since the announced pool closure residents and the Friends of Clougherty Pool have been fighting to reopen the pool, even if only for a few weeks this summer.
“It is critical that our community remain engaged in this conversation,” said the Friends of Clougherty Pool in a statement. “Not only are we without access to this important resource for what might be the entire summer, but there is currently no plan, timeline or stated commitment to reopen the pool. To that end, we have invited elected officials and city leaders, including BCYF and the Mayor’s office, to join us to address questions about the pools status to reopen in 2022, the latest engineer report and other documented safety issues, repairs and funding since 2013, and long-term plans to ensure continued use by the Charlestown community.”
Since learning of the sudden closure, the Friends of the Clougherty Pool has organized a rally on June 20 attended by over 300, a community meeting with government officials on June 28 attended by over 125, and a petition that now has over 1,630 signatures.
The group’s online petition can be found at https://www.change.org/p/save-our-pool-89343b11-2dce-490a-94f4-67817dad1719.
“As we head into our fourth week without the Clougherty Pool, we are experiencing inequities and access issues – especially for our working families, individuals with disabilities and their caregivers, youth, and seniors,” the statement concluded.
Rumors began swirling in early June about the possible closure of the pool. At a City Council hearing in mid-June District 1 City Councilor Gabriela Coletta put a spotlight on the rumors and asked Boston’s Chief of Human Services Jose Masso to elaborate on if the Clougherty Pool would be closed.
A few days after the hearing, BCYF announced the pool’s closure and offered up nearby pools like the BCYF Charlestown Community Center pool as well as BCYF Mirabella Pool on Commercial Street in the North End as other options for swimming.