Reason #223 for supporting VGCA and the pool…

Please take 2 minutes to read this… and then support VGCA and the pool at vgnn.org/join.

There are many reasons to join the Village Green Community Association, and I’ve covered a lot of them over the years. But today, I want to share a bit of history and also look at our current reality.

I took over pool management back in 2017, making this the 10th season I’ve managed our pool. When I started, we were paying a pool management company nearly $25,000 a year to handle our lifeguards, inspections, and daily operations. Then, COVID changed everything.

In the summer of 2020, our pool management company wasn’t going to open the pool due to pandemic restrictions, yet we were still on the hook to pay them nearly $8,000 just for baseline maintenance. The VGCA Board was deeply concerned that if we didn’t open that season, it might be the end of the pool entirely. Plus, during a time of immense uncertainty, we all desperately needed a safe way to socialize and get outside.

Drawing on my own experience growing up with pools (above ground) and time spent as a lifeguard, I teamed up with Pete F., Rich S., Amy N., and Laura C. to hopefully save the summer. Laura connected us with the Coast Guard Blue Dolphins swim team, who were struggling to find practice space with indoor pools closed. That partnership brought in crucial revenue. We cut ties with the management company and jumped right in. We navigated changing executive orders, managed swim lane bookings for Phase 2, and by Phase 3, we had the diving board back open. That 4th of July felt pretty darn normal, and the summer was a massive success and a vital outlet for families in the Green!!!

While we’ve kept that momentum going for the last six years, membership has slowly waned.

Over the years, I’ve spent countless hours managing lifeguards and researching chemicals, paint, and filtration to prepare this facility for another decade. Our amazing neighbors have also chipped in invaluable volunteer hours to maintain a nearly 60-year-old pool.

But the economic reality has caught up with us:

• Labor: Minimum wage has increased 76% since July 2020 and will go up even more the next 2 years. Lifeguard labor is our single biggest budget item, and staffing them is required by City of Newport News ordinance.

• Supplies: Chemical and equipment costs have skyrocketed due to supply chain issues and inflation.

• The Alternative: I recently requested quotes from two independent pool management companies. Their bids came in at $45,000/year.

The math is simple: Memberships + Volunteers = The Pool Stays Open.

If we are forced to pivot back to a commercial management company, it will likely lead to the pool closing permanently within a year or two. If that happens, neighborhood property values will take a hit, and we lose a staple of our community.

Please consider supporting the VGCA and the pool. Even if you don’t plan to swim, you can join the VGCA as a community member and provide an extra donation.

Thank you for your support!