Fort Worth Considering Demolishing 5 Public Pools

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - It is not the time of year most of us think of swimming. But Fort Worth is about to dive into the problem of how to deal of a handful of eyesore pools, of of which is more than 80 years old.

"Its a big swimming pool but no one goes in it," eight year old Angel Martinez said to his cousin as they peered through the chain link fence at the pool in Hillside Park.

"There's no water," his female cousin responded.

Fort Worth's aging pools definitely do not make a splash with people.

"The pool there, it looks like its abandoned," Martinez said.

Pete Madina lives in the area and was visiting the pool with his young nieces and nephews who have never even had a chance to swim here.

"Ever since I was little there was really no one in there, it was always empty," said twelve year old Destiny Martinez. "Every summer we would always go and ask if they were going to open it. But it would never be open."

Fort worth has five pools all in the same shape. They're decaying, more than 40 years old and too expensive to repair.

Despite the locks on gates and fences around the pools, children can find their way inside.

"A lot of people try to go there and steal stuff and like that," eleven year old Celeste Campos said.

"The way it is right now anybody could get in there could get hurt," Madina said. "The way it's damaged right now they could get hurt."

"It'd be better if it were torn down and could be like, something new," Angel Martinez said.

And that is exactly what Fort Worth is planning on doing. Tuesday, the city council will decide if the city should bulldoze pools at Como, Kellis, Hillside, Sycamore and Sylvania parks.

"I think it would be better if they tore it down and put something cool, cooler, new or even another swimming pool that works," said Destiny Martinez.

The demolitions would be part of a long-term, $20,600,000 Aquatic Master Plan that would modernize the city's aquatic recreation.

Initially the pools would be filled in and the ground seeded for grass, but  in the long term plan the city would eventually replace the pools with more modern aquatic facilities like splash parks.

The city estimates a demolition would take six months to complete and the total for all the demolitions would be $262,668.