Residents of Flint, Mich., are taking to the streets in an effort to persuade the University of Michigan-Flint to keep a local pool open.
According to WNEM, many residents in the area have been using the pool, which is owned by UW-Flint and is slated to be closed in three days, for more than 50 years.
Residents of Flint, Mich., are taking to the streets in an effort to persuade the University of Michigan-Flint to keep a local pool open.Â
According to WNEM, many residents in the area have been using the pool, which is owned by UW-Flint and is slated to be closed in three days, for more than 50 years.Â
“I was very excited when I got accepted to this program, and I knew that they had a pool because I was able to stay on the University of Michigan triathlon team while going to school here,” UM- Flint student Sia Hayes said. “So I’ve been able to do my training and I’ve gotten to meet all these wonderful people who love the pool just as much as I do.”
Tammy Beckett-Reese, who has been swimming there since she was a student in 1979, told WNEM that the timing for the closure is not ideal.Â
“This particular time of closing is horrendous,” Beckett-Reese said. “The Y isn’t even open right now and won’t be open for some months. And I looked at, like, Lapeer, and they’re shut down for a month. I looked at some of these other places and they’re just way too expensive.”
A letter sent to UM-Flint students and residents noted that the closure was decided as part of an ongoing master plan and evaluation of the space.Â
"The pool requires substantial updates, from cosmetic improvements to critical repairs,” the letter said. "The university has decided to redirect pool resources toward enhancing other recreational services and spaces that more closely align with current student interests and needs.”
The pool's last day of operations will be July 26.Â
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