The City’s only pool remains closed for its third year running.

Budlong pool will remain shut for its fourth year as plans for the pool's repair or redesign were debated by city officials during the Public Works Committee meeting last Thursday.

Budlong pool, one of the largest public pools in the country, opened in the 1950s and served the Cranston community right up to the beginning of Covid a few years ago. The pool closed at the start of the pandemic and many Cranston residents are wondering why it hasn’t reopened as restrictions have been lifted.

“I know all of you want the Budlong Pool to open this summer,” said Ward 2 Councilwoman Aniece Germain Thursday evening. “That is our desire. I cannot say it’s a matter of money because we passed a resolution allowing us to use ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] funds for the pool. So there is no excuse there.”

Germain also pointed out that, with a population of over 82,000 people, this is the only public pool Cranston has. She said she was under the impression the pool was closed due to Covid and that now that restrictions are lifting and things are getting back to normal the evidence for why the pool is closed now points to something else.

A feasibility study was ordered on the pool in April of last year to assess its condition and options for reopening it. The assessment showed that the pool's current condition included cracking in the pool’s substrate and foundations that caused constant leaking of water. Previous to being closed, the pool had to be refilled far more often than it should have; constant refilling meant that far more treatment had to be done to the water to maintain its pH and chlorine levels which drastically increased costs.

In addition to the cracking in the foundation, the feasibility study also raised concerns over the effect the constant leaking of pool water has on the area's water table. These concerns make the idea of simply repairing the current pool into more of a dilemma than it first appeared.

Mayor Ken Hopkins put forth plans for a remodel of the pool suggesting a massive overhaul of the facilities that would reduce the size of the pool by two thirds while adding other features such as a splash pad for young children, a pavilion for a barbeque area and even pickleball courts.

Some citizens have raised concerns about these plans, not wanting to see the pool changed due to its historical significance to the city. Many have spoken up saying the main goal of the city should be repairing the damage the pool has sustained with an effort to keep it as close to the original design as possible.

“I see it as if it will be utilized more than if we left it the way it was,” said Council member Nicole Renzulli at Thursday’s meeting. “They’re saying it is impossible to rebuild it as it is. I get the historical aspect, and I am very much appreciative of it. I even went to Budlong pool as a child, but if it is not going to be utilized the way it was many, many years ago then I don’t understand why we would even make that consideration just for the point of history.”

Renzulli pointed out that the pool can currently hold up to 1,200 people, however, in its last year before closing, the pool only sold approximately 350 season passes. Renzulli said that making the pool a third of the size will still provide enough swimming space for the amount of people who use the pool while providing other recreational experiences.

“There are more young small children in the community now,” Renzulli said. “The city as an entity should be wanting more people to take advantage of the facilities and use the space. With a capacity of 1,200 people that’s the size of Cranston West. Every one of those kids is not going to the pool every day, there's also other things to do.”

These modernized plans also come with a hefty $7 million price tag that proponents of the plan have yet to find funds for.

“Where will this money come from?” Germain asked Chief of Staff Anthony Moretti.

“The recommendation is that the bottom line would be vetted through the budget process which is going to be upon us very, very soon,” said Moretti. “We’re open to any suggestions but the way we see this would be one of two things. Using ARPA funds or partially using ARPA funds. We’d need to verify that that is a valid use, but we’re quite sure it would be, and there is also using our bond funds along with the grants or in combination with the ARPA.” Councilwoman Germain said that she loved the ideas for features and new amenities, but she remembers last summer and how hot it was and how many people in the city were desperate for a way to cool down and escape the extreme temperatures.

“My question is why you don’t know where this $7 million is going to come from?” Germain asked. “Since we passed a resolution asking to use ARPA funds I think that still now you don’t know how much you can take from ARPA. You haven’t even started the process. We’re not asking for a fantasy.”

Germain said the focus should be on providing families and children a place to cool down during the summer and not creating a possible future facility with no funding. She also pointed out that the proposed plan would be amazing if the city could afford them, but that since no effort has been made to secure the funding that would go along with the $7 million amenities, an attempt to budget for repair should have also been made if that would be the faster option for giving the city a pool.

Despite the heated debate, Moretti made it clear that there was no real chance of the pool opening for this year, and that attempting to seek out further federal funding or applying for grants would in fact extend the amount of time before any project could feasibly get under way.

“So I’m trying to really pay attention to what’s going on here tonight,” Councilman Robert Ferri. “What I’m hearing is that there is a $7 million plan and there is a $4 million plan, maybe $5 million, but why can’t we have a $2.5 million plan that gets us a pool in the next two years? In regards to what she [Germain] is saying about fantasy land, when the summer comes and the pool isn’t open we’re going to get the phone calls again.”

Ferri made it clear that what the people want is a pool. The splash pad and pickleball courts along with other plans to the facility sound beautiful, said Ferri, but he continued to say that the goal needs to be giving the people a pool and that any other plans could come after.

The next meeting of the Public Works Committee will be held on March 16 at 6 p.m. at Cranston City Hall.