Cranston Mayor Sticking With Plan For Smaller Budlong Pool: Report

CRANSTON, RI — The Budlong Community Pool in Cranston has been closed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 85-year-old pool will be replaced in 2024, but Mayor Ken Hopkins has faced criticism from residents and other city officials, because his plan calls for a smaller pool.

But Hopkins said he's sticking with the plan. His administration will take bids for an 8,000 square-foot pool and an adjacent bathhouse, Hopkins told WPRI 12 Tuesday. That's a third of the size of the original pool.

"I have listened to public comments over many months, suggestions by city council members, expert opinions by leading pool designers,” Hopkins told WPRI 12. "I have determined that the depression-era [pool], built 22,000 square feet, has well seen its last day."

The debate between city councilors and Hopkins has been ongoing for several months. Last month, the council voted on a resolution, which urged Hopkins to amend his $3.5 million construction proposal. Under the resolution, the council called for the pool to be no smaller than 11,000 square feet.

Hopkins said the first phase of the pool project will cost $3.5 million, with $350,000 coming from American Rescue Plan Act funds and $750,000 from congressional grants. The rest will come from money in the city budget, which was approved by the city's planning commission, though is still pending approval from the Cranston City Council and finance committee.

Hopkins said other phases of the pool's redevelopment will come when funds became available. New amenities in those phases could include a splash pad, a pickleball court or other improvements.