Old Deckerville swimming pool demolished – Sanilac County News – sanilaccountynews.mihomepaper.com
Thursday, August 10, 2023
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(Above) Mc Eachin Excavating, out of Deckerville, breaks up the concrete from what used to be the Deckerville community swimming pool. After more than a decade of disuse, the pool – located on Deckerville Community School grounds – is being demolished. (Photo by Casey Johnson)
DECKERVILLE — The metallic clanging of an excavator breaking into concrete could be heard on the Deckerville Community School grounds last week, as the community swimming pool, which has not been used for 13 summers, was demolished.
The pool was installed in the mid-1970’s with a grant from the Department of Natural Resources. Several local businessmen spearheaded the project, village president Don Murdock told the News, and tried to find a location for the pool in the village.
The village, however, had no available space and leased the property from the school for about 20 years.
“Something happened in that time period where (the pool) had to be reconstructed,” Murdock said, and the pool was rebuilt in the 1980’s.
After the property lease expired, the village turned the pool over to the school, where it saw years of use. However, issues with cost and lifeguard staffing led to the pool’s closure in 2010.
(Right) The Deckerville community swimming pool in 1993. (Deckerville Village photo)
In 2010, the News interviewed then superintendent Donald Schelke who said the cost to maintain the pool was around $20,000.
“In better times, the district could afford to subsidize the pool,” Schelke told the News at the time. “But with declining student enrollment and state financial aid, and a fund equity that is now shrinking rather than growing, the school system can no longer afford the expense. We don’t want to close the pool … but it’s hard to justify when we’re running in the red.”
The original intention was to close the pool for one year, and re-evaluate the following season.
The pool never reopened.
The board approved the pool demolition project in April, 2023, in the amount of $25,298.
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Originally posted 2023-08-10 08:30:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter