FAIRFAX, Ohio -- The Fairfax Swim Club, a private community pool that operated across the street from Ziegler Park for 55 years, will dry up for good Sept. 3 unless someone throws it a line, according to a news release from the Fairfax Civic Association.
“I don’t even know how to explain what this means to me," 19-year-old life guard Hanna Tenhunfeld said. "The thought of it even closing just makes me want to cry."
From the time she learned to swim, Tenhunfeld was among the young Fairfax residents whom Civic Association member Tracy Naticchioni affectionately called "pool rats:" The ones who built their summers around the water.
"They love it here, and this is what they have to do all summer long,” she said.
However, striving to keep the pool accessible by keeping costs down for members -- a full-price family pass for the season costs $400, and a single-person pass costs $175 -- without taking taxpayer money hamstrung the nonprofit pool's ability to pay for necessary services and repairs, according to the release.
"Without community support and investment, operating and managing the pool with the level of quality our members expect has become too difficult," Naticchioni and fellow member Christy Resnik wrote. "At this point in time, we can no longer continue to operate in the same manner without a significant increase in funding."
The pool needs a new liner, pump repairs and a new baby pool awning, among other maintenance. The total bill would amount to more than $100,000, according to Naticchioni.
"I would love to see it be saved because this pool has been a huge part of my life," Tenhundfeld said.
Anyone interested in donating to the pool or acquiring the building should contact the Fairfax Civic Association.
