This aerial photo shows the Hillsboro Swim Organization pool on West Main Street that will not open this year for the first time is 66 years. The 3.5-acre location will be auctioned on May 23.
Hillsboro Swim Organization
For the first time is 66 years, the public pool in Hillsboro will not open this summer.
The board of the Hillsboro Swim Organization recently voted to sell the community swimming pool in Hillsboro at an action May 23 at the swimming pool at 5 p.m.
For the first time in 66 years, the pool will not open this year.
“We had some vandalism, and it was very costly to repair,” said Hillsboro Swim Organization Board President Jeff Beery. “We just didn’t have the money.”
Beery said there were two break-ins at the pool. “They ransacked the building the first time, sprayed fire extinguishers and destroyed things,” he said.
He said the second break-in happened during the coldest day of the year, and the door of the pool’s pump room was kicked in and left open causing the pipes to freeze and burst.
Anyone interested in participating in the auction can contact Chambers-Fite Realty at 937-393-1948.
“It would be my hope that someone would buy it and make it a pool again, but we just financially weren’t able to do it,” said Beery. “We hated to sit on the vacant property and have it get worse, so we thought if we could get it back on someone’s hands that had the resources to fix everything we might still get a pool right away, but if not then we’ll plan for the future and try to get something someday.”
Beery said the property is 3.5 acres and includes the pool’s supplies and equipment.
“We really explored every avenue to try to find a way to get it going this year,” he said. “We had a plumbing company spend a lot of time evaluating it to see if there was a way to keep things going, but we just didn’t have the means to make it happen.”
Beery said he thanks the people who donated money to keep the pool going for so many years. “I have nothing but fond memories of the pool,” he said. “I grew up swimming there, and it’s heartbreaking to see it be sold, but I really hope it will get in someone’s hands that will do something great with it.”
The pool located at 635 W. Main St. in Hillsboro first opened on May 31, 1958.
Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.
