Alissa Orozco
CARPINTERIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The City of Carpinteria has launched a new capital campaign to help raise the funds to restore the community pool, the beloved facility that has hosted generations of families, residents, and students for years.
While the pool is no where near risk of an immediate closure, a quick walk through the facility will show its dwindling condition. Cracked decking, rusted gutters, corroded depth markers, lifted tiles in the lobby… and that’s just what one can see on the surface. Behind the scenes, dated electrical panels and filteration and chemical systems make the fundraising efforts all the more dire.
Following a site assessment, the City is hoping to raise approximately $3.3 million to put towards restoration. The 25-yard by 25-meter pool consists of 10 lanes, and sees more than 24,000 visits a year.
Despite its condition, the pool remains a second home for many Carpinterians, who have nothing but great things to say about the pool, and the folks who run it.
“Its a treasure, its a great pool,” said swimmer Jeff Naylor. “A lot of communities don’t have pools, and its heavily used by the community. Since I’ve been coming here I’ve only seen the number of people that come here increasing, and its something we outta take care of, and we outta invest in.”
Naylor and about a dozen other adults are part of the pool’s Master Fitness Swimming Course, its just one of the programs offered at the facility. Year around the pool offers lap swim, swim lessons, youth club swimming and water polo, water aerobics – and is also home to the Carpinteria High School’s swimming and water polo teams.
These programs and services are integral to the community, but community leaders say these are all at risk of being loss if the pool’s infrastructure issues re not addressed.
“Without this facility that would be a major loss to, not only to the department, but to the entire community,” explains Jeanette Gant, Carpinteria’s Director of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services.
“What’s showing is that the rebar is rusting through and the cracks are pretty deep, and so if they’re not repaired, eventually over a period of time, the gutter will continue to crumple, as well the pool deck and then the rebar will come through on to the deck or the gutter, and essentially the pool would not be usable at that time. It could not be safe for people to walk on it, for people to get in and out of the pool.”
Gant says the project would not a complete redesign of the pool, rather just moving forward with the improvements to the pool’s existing features to maintain it and perserve it for years to come. An estimated six-month closure is anticipated for the project, hoping to kick start during winter 2027/2028.
“This pool is magnificent. Location-wise, the community, all the people that come here… its a meeting spot for us,” said swimmer Brian Meagher. “Unfortunately, there’s a lot of renovations that need to be done. As we all know, living coastal, its gets a lot of sunlight and wear-and-tear. The whole community needs this.”
The city says approximately $374,000 has already been secured thanks to the help of local community members and organizations.
Throughout the year, fundraising events and initiatives will been going on to get the City to it’s $3.3 million goal. T-shirts with the caption, “Keep Carp Swimming” will be up for sale soon, and any and all donations are being facilitated through the Community Access & Recreation Projects Fund via the Santa Barbara Foundation.
Anyone wanting to make a donation can find more information here, and to stay in the loop on the latest with the Carpinteria Community Pool Project, visit KeepCarpSwimming.org to learn more.
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Courtesy: Americas High School
