EAST SPARTA, Ohio — On warm summer days, the Sandy Valley Community Pool is packed with kids splashing around in the water. The memories are precious for Linda Muir.
"My kids took swim lessons here," Muir said.
Muir, who is also the pool board president, took several pictures of her grandchildren having fun in the pool this summer.
"It's still beautiful, this pool," Muir told News 5.
But after Labor Day weekend, the plan is to close the pool, not just for the season, but permanently. Muir said it'll be a big loss for families.
"It's just that kids don't have a lot to do around here and it's nice that they have this place," she said.
The pool is owned by the village of East Sparta. Muir said the village council made the decision to close down the pool due to financial reasons. It was becoming too costly to keep the summertime fun spot operating.
"We're not making, taking in enough money for expenses," Muir said. "Different businesses have given us quite a bit to keep us going— that we're not in the red. We're just gonna break even this year."
News 5 reached out to East Sparta Mayor Don Stropki, but we haven't heard back as of Tuesday evening.
Paul Hanood, another board member who does maintenance at the pool, said a major factor is the cost of replacing the main pump, which needs a new part.
"It would cost about $7,000 to $8,000 to get a new pump," Hanood said.
The decision to close down the pool, which would have celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024, has made some waves in Stark County.
Muir said she was discouraged from doing additional fundraisers to save the pool.
"We had some fundraisers planned and they told me not to raise any more money, so we gave the fundraisers to different organizations in East Sparta."
However, some in the community are not giving up.
A sign on the pool's fence reads "Support Our Pool" and points out a village council meeting scheduled for Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.
"I still think that if somehow the community would get behind this, we could keep this pool open," Hanood said.
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
