Carolina Beach one step closer to community pool

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) –- Carolina Beach is one step closer to getting a community swimming pool. Town Council voted Tuesday night to approve the community pool pending it fitting into the town’s annual budget.

Most of the people that attended Tuesday night’s meeting seemed excited about the idea moving forward but not everyone thought it was in the town’s best interest.

“This is something that begins to cross the line and something I think needs to be scrutinized more,” said Darren Alkins, a Carolina Beach resident.

Alkins is concerned about public money paying for the pool.

“I need to see the numbers first, and tonight we saw a marketing presentation,” Alkins said.

Carolina Beach’s Ad-Hoc Aquatic’s Committee presented its findings of the feasibility of building the swimming pool during the meeting. The Committee recommended Town Council move forward with plans to build the pool.

“It’s a need at this point,” said John Pellizzari, Ashley High School’s swim coach.

Pellizzari says the facilities in the county are over used and having a controlled environment to teach kids to swim would be beneficial to the community.

“It’s nice to have the ocean but you can’t control the ocean. In a pool environment, you can control the pool environment. You can see, you can teach, you can walk you can stand,” said Pellizzari.

Town Council voted 5-0 in favor of moving forward with the next step of planning for a community pool. They will now crunch numbers and see if a pool fits in with the budget.

The Ad-Hoc Aquatic’s Committee says that 55 percent of Carolina Beach residents are in favor of the plan.

Mayor Bob Lewis says it will be months before the town officially decides whether they will build the pool.