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Pawtucket residents invited to view 3 new design ideas to improve the pool in Fairlawn
City of Pawtucket to Host Public Meeting on Veterans Memorial Pool Improvements
The City of Pawtucket is inviting residents to a public meeting to discuss planned changes and improvements to the Veterans Memorial Pool, located in Veterans Memorial Park in the Fairlawn neighborhood of Pawtucket.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 3, at 6:00 PM at Nathanael Greene Elementary School.
“We are committed to revitalizing this important community asset,” said Mayor Donald Grebien. “This meeting is an opportunity for residents to have their voices heard and to help us create a space that truly serves the Fairlawn neighborhood and beyond.”
This exciting project aims to enhance the pool’s functionality and accessibility for community members. Residents can view three proposed renderings of the pool improvements, created by the architectural firm Kuth-Ranieri, which has been selected to lead the design.
The improvements to the Veterans Memorial Pool are made possible through a combination of funding, including $2.3 million in congressional-directed spending and an additional $500,000 from a recreation bond.
The City encourages community members to attend and provide valuable feedback. Public input will play a key role in shaping the final design to best meet the needs of Pawtucket residents.
For those unable to attend in person, the meeting will also be available via Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://kuthranieri.zoom.us/j/85149277405?pwd=5d7GczmF9qbmTOTIGEIZZrxYQKVvlu.1
Meeting ID: 851 4927 7405
Passcode: 536558
For more information, please visit the City of Pawtucket’s website or contact the Department of Public Works at 401-728-0500 ext. 233.
July, 2023:
Mayor Grebien is doing the right thing by seeking community input before plowing through with a preconceived concept of a plan, as Cranston Mayor Hopkins did. Pawtucket has the opportunity to give valuable input and share ideas… how refreshing! I spent 18 months trying to convince our mayor that his million gallon pool wasn’t leaking out nor taking on groundwater. I wasted my time and energy trying to prove no leaking to a mayor who refused to perform a pressurized test to confirm or quell the notion! The “proof” he had was(and is) a deceptive lie and over 2,000 signatures on a petition delivered to his office was the residents way of saying “stop your plans to downsize our only public pool! Don’t make it 1/3 the size and 4 feet deep!!” but out mayor couldn’t care less what the city wanted. He lied to get what he wanted.
To: Susan Blake
The pool was presented based on the budget available to re-do it. Over 12 City Council agenda meetings to review, make critiques, suggestions. One big open public meeting showed the findings of what was wrong with the pool, and what designs were possible given the budget provided. The Cranston pool is enormous and could not be rebuilt with the money there is, given ADA and other changes that must be made by federal regulation. These regulations are impacting what is happening in Pawtucket as well. We look forward to publishing what Pawtucket comes up with and how cooperative – or not – the meeting goes. While the pool in Cranston will be less in total size, it will be deeper than 4 feet – not sure where that misinformation came from. Please see the links to the stories we have done since the project’s inception.
Agreed. I live in Cranston and the mayor botched the opportunity. Having been a competitive swimmer at the Pawtucket Boys Club on East Avenue decades ago, I would strongly advise a pool at least 25 yards long with a minimum of four standard competition lanes marked on the bottom. Consider the possibility of making it useable year round. There are health clubs that have a portable tent-like cover that can be used in winter and taken down for summer use and there are permanently covered pools with sliding doors to/from outside. Both could be heated electrically with solar panels. Additionally, either could be rented out much like ice rinks. If the new high school, when built, has a swimming pool, that would provide year round pools on both sides of the city with some state-aid to education to offset some of the costs for maintenance and staffing.
Mayor Hopkins could learn a lesson from this. “It is a community asset”. Once upon a time, Cranston had a pool that the community enjoyed. Despite repeated attempts to engage the Mayor over a 3 year time period, the community was ignored. Nobody received a letter or notice as to why the pool wasn’t opened. The City Council listened but they too were ignored. Emails, calls, and a petition did nothing. Months later, a meeting was called. Not many knew about it because it was word of mouth. Residents came to the meeting to ask questions. Before questions could be asked, they learned was that their pool had already been redesigned to the Mayor’s ”dream”, hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent to pool architects, and the new design was more like a kiddie pool than a family pool. The design belonged in a resort. It wasn’t a community pool. The Council counter proposed a slightly smaller version of the existing pool.
a rectangular pool with a shallow end for kids and non-swimmers and a deeper end for those who like to dive off the side. No bells and whistles – a simple rectangle of cement filled with water. The residents agreed with the Council. It was acceptable to all – a place to swim, to cool off, to meet other residents.
Now there is a cement hole in the ground. Not much has been done. In his infinite wisdom, the Mayor is still ignoring the residents and going ahead with his version. We found out via a news clip on TV.
I hope that the Pawtucket residents fare better than Cranston did. Your Mayor is willing to include you in the process. You are the ones who will use the pool, and your input is valued.
Enjoy your pool. It’s a luxury so take care of it.
You can see the design presented and reviewed time after time in Cranston – and it is set to be opened late summer, 2025 – after nearly 2 dozen City Council meetings…well, you get the idea. Here is the link to all our stories:
https://rinewstoday.com/?s=budlong+pool
https://rinewstoday.com/mayor-hopkins-steps-out-of-partisan-quagmire-moves-forward-to-rebuild-cranstons-budlong-pool/
I’m confident the City of Pawtucket will embrace the opinions and suggestions from its residents and create a new and improved Veterans Memorial Pool for all to enjoy – a concept not pursued by the City of Cranston.