New Indoor Pool Announced at YMCA Groundbreaking Event

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The Cleveland Avenue’s historic YMCA of the Greater Montgomery Area announced plans to construct a new two million dollar, state-of-the-art indoor pool at a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday. YMCA President Gary Cobbs says the pool will be used to benefit the community by offering swimming lessons to children.
“Swimming lessons are very critical for children in this area,” Cobbs said. “Drownings is the second leading cause of death for kids ages one to 14, and we want to prevent those drownings.”
Cobbs says the indoor pool will benefit the community by offering a safe location for community members to swim 12 months out of the year, compared to ten weeks during the summer months.
Water aerobics and other health programs that have been offered before will now have new location to help combat obesity. The YMCA is hoping to work with the school system to aid in the project.
“It’s been so important for many years, and it’s so important today,” Cobbs said. “We do so many different programs focused on educating children, focused on education, focused just on helping kids get nutrition that they need.”
Edward Crowell is a member of the YMCA board. He says the pool was one of three projects the board has taken on this year with a focus on meeting all needs of the community.
“The need is there, we are making certain the resources are there, and we are gonna make this become a reality,” Crowell said. “In the end, we are talking about our youth, we are talking about the future, and this is what makes it all happen.”
Along with the groundbreaking announcement, the YMCA held a block party, with games, music and food, allowing the community to join in on the celebration. The construction for the pool is expected to start later this year, with hopes of the finished product being ready sometime next summer.