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Richland County Recreation Commission updates residents on Hopkins pool

The pool is closed to the public and is now drained.

HOPKINS, S.C. — In March, the Richland County Recreational Commission closed the Hopkins Park Pool indefinitely due to safety concerns. 

On Monday the commission discussed the latest on the pool, and residents aren't happy.

“How did we get this point of the pool being closed and not safe to swim in?” Darryl Davis, a long time Hopkins resident said

The county showed pictures of the current condition the pool is in. 

“The Hopkins Park Pool is currently closed to the public. Currently giving you an update. We have drained the pool," a member said.

Pictures included a crack from the pool to the fence, cement separating from the foundation, and missing tiles. 

The county discussed some options for moving forward and eventually re-open the pool. They’re now going to get some proposals to see what’s the best option.

Davis said the attended the meeting and isn’t happy with what he heard.

“They made a suggestion that can we replaster the pool to get the pool reopened and what not and was like but if we could have done that, why is the pool closed," Davis said.

Felecia Nazery attended the meeting as well.

“As a steward of what we have in the community, we should be bound by making sure what we have in place stays in place and it stays working and operable," Nazery said.

But she wasn’t satisfied with this response, so she asked Patrick Dimig, a pool builder to come to examine the pool. He said in his opinion the pool isn’t in complete disrepair.

“It looks to me that it could be renovated properly where it doesn’t need to be demolished and started over with. Things like the tile on the water line need to be replaced. There’s some cracking, the skimmers need to be changed out and then replastering the pool," Dimig said.

During the meeting, commissioners discussed the next steps for the pool including how to get the funding to make any necessary changes.

“We already determine they need the money for a new pool. Let's get the money to get them a new pool,” a member said.

The commission will now have to come up with the money to repair the pool or build a new one.

News 19 reached out to the Richland County Recreation Commission about this story on Tuesday but they declined to comment.

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