BALTIMORE — Mayor Brandon Scott cleared the air on Wednesday on why one of the city’s biggest public pools suddenly closed, to many swimmer’s surprise.
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“We were scheduled to break ground on a new Patterson Park pool, but the council members and community asked that we stop to make repairs and attempt to keep the pool open this summer instead of just closing it for renovation. And despite my concerns that we could end up where we are today. Let’s be very clear, this pool was always meant to close for renovations because it is a pool that has needed renovations since 20, 30 years ago,” Scott said.
He continued saying the 70-year-old pool couldn’t handle recent heavy rains and flooding forcing them to close early for renovation anyway.
The Department of Rec and Parks is currently rolling out a $120 million investment plan to upgrade facilities, with 6 out of 23 city pools being renovated.
