Soper Pool, Hancock Pool slated to close down over next four years
Posted Dec 5, 2020 12:30:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A majority of Cambridge city council have voted earlier this week to close Soper Pool by the end of the 2021 swimming season, and to close Hancock Pool by the end of the 2024 swimming season.
Ward 4 councillor Jan Liggett says a number of local residents have told her that they are upset to see that the two pools are being closed down.
“For instance with Soper, the amount of money that would be needed to keep it operational indefinitely would only be $537,000. So even if we decommission it, that's $180,000. Just do the building the way it needs to be done and keep the pool up to code.
“Council for some reason, chose the pool that's in West Galt — Hancock Pool, to keep open, even though Soper Pool is the pool that would take less money to bring up to speed and to code. It also brings in more profit.”
Liggett said some local residents do not feel like their voices were heard.
“Many people who had originally wanted the pools to be kept open a couple of years ago when the big uproar happened.. they aren't aware this is happening. With COVID, people just aren't able to attend meetings. Some of the meetings are held when they are not able to call in even by phone… So it's kind of a mixed bag, but people are very upset about this.”
She says on Thursday, another attempt was made to keep soper park pool open, but the majority of council did not want to do that.
Instead, a majority of council members chose to close the pools to save millions of dollars on necessary upgrades.
