Community Pool Trying to Stay Above Water

It’s not easy running a small community pool. Just ask Lissa Caltrider, treasurer of the Lakeview Swim and Tennis Club, which is tucked in the woods of Deer Park Road.

“We’ve been able to break even,” she said. “We operate on bare bones.”

It takes $40,000 to $45,000 a year to run the club, which sits on five acres in a residential neighborhood in Reisterstown. That money is tough to make in three months, especially considering the pool had 48 members last year. In fact, membership dues collected for this season will help pay last year’s taxes.

Lakeview is not the only one struggling. Clubs in the immediate area, like the and , recently closed, with the economy at least partly to blame.

Alison Osinski, a California-based aquatic consultant, understands the problems.

“We still have these issues with community pools because they were never in the business of making money,” she said. “They don’t know how.”

Pools built in the 60s and 70s, like Lakeview, are very different from pools these days, which Osinski says are more like “aquatic leisure centers.”

Only 34 percent of Americans can swim, and only 2 to 7 percent are swimmers who use lap pools, Osinski said. Because of these numbers, new pools might have lap pools, but most include more shallow, warm water pools, therapy pools and activity pools, along with playgrounds, locker rooms and other amenities.

“If you’re stuck with one of the older pools, you can’t make it economically feasible these days,” she said. “You need some good programs.”

Lakeview, which opened in the mid-70s as part of the development of Folly Quarter neighborhood on Deer Park Road, does what it can to attract pool goers.

The summers feature monthly parties, picnics, crab feasts, ice cream socials and a pig roast. Even before and after the season, the community gets together to watch NFL games and party on Halloween.

“It’s really like going to your backyard with your friends,” Caltrider said. Even members of the community who have pools in their backyards join as members.

The pool closed in 2005, reopened for part of the summer of 2006, and was fully operational again in 2007. These days, it is run by a board of volunteers, and the only paid employees are the lifeguards. Membership is $900 a year per family, or $800 for new members.

The clubhouse has a full kitchen and grill that members can use and has an “honors system snack bar.”

Caltrider said the club wants to have 60 members, which will help make ends meet without putting the small pool over capacity.

“We want to preserve the tranquility of the place, but it’s very expensive to run,” she said.

Some residents are passing out flyers in the neighborhood, but membership is open to anyone. She hopes the appeal of a pool that functions as a community center with beautiful surroundings will reel people in.

“It’s very peaceful,” she said.